STATE Magazine, Winter 2006 by Oklahoma State

photo/phil shockley

state

W I N T E R 2 0 0 6 , Vo l . 2 , N o . 2 h tt p : // maga z ine . o k state . edu

Welcome to the winter 2006 issue of STATE magazine, your source of information from the OSU Alumni Association, the OSU Foundation and University Marketing. Football legend Walt Garrison, on the cover, who was recruited by the Dallas Cowboys while playing for OSU, says he’ll be forever orange. Read more about him on page 54. As always, we welcome your comments, memories and suggestions for future stories.

A Suite Start Students with the same major or similar interests can choose to live in OSU’s newest housing option, OSU Village Suites.

Pistol Pete Pistol Pete represents a special brotherhood among these alumni who portrayed the famous mascot.

Waiting for Elvis Award-winning writer and professor Toni Graham discusses the craft and art of writing.

Laws of Chemistry He’s known for developing sensors that detect chemical weapons, and now physics professor James Harmon offers a sensor that can identify viruses ranging from the common cold to cancer.

Artistic Mysteries Through her research, graduate student Linda Fleming sheds light on a little-known collection of Japanese hanging scrolls.

High-Tech Lab OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences adds yet another state and regional resource.

WINTER 2006

Stand By Your Man

Remaining positive amid the ups and downs of the sports season is part of the game of life for these coaches’ wives.

Bond Girl!

Defining Diversity

Distinguished Alumni

Economic Impact

Graphic design graduate has a hand in revolutionizing the DVD industry.

A systemwide self study underway at OSU will become the basis for an action plan to strengthen diversity.

The OSU Alumni Association honors alumni who have made a difference in the world through their personal and professional achievements.

OSU’s impact on the Stillwater economy — already $1.2 billion annually — will get a huge boost as OSU launches its historic campus expansion.

Forever Orange From the harvest carnival to walkaround and the parade, OSU’s homecoming celebration charms alumni of all ages.

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44 48

A Cowboy’s Cowboy From OSU Cowboy to Dallas Cowboy, football legend Walt Garrison says he owes it all to OSU.

How Orange Are You? How many of these OSU trivia questions can you answer?

Leading By Example

Business Connections

A Lasting Tribute

Besides serving as chairman and CEO of Phillips Petroleum Company, Wayne Allen has created numerous scholarship programs for students.

OSU’s New Product Development Center goes a step further in serving Oklahoma businesses with new marketing and business analysis programs.

The Thad Scott family hopes scholarships they created for theater students will memorialize Thad’s passion for theater and his love for OSU.

Entrepreneurial Spirit Whether founding a children’s program at OSU or a multimedia company valued by Hollywood, alumnus Piyish Patel credits his success to his OSU experience.

In Honor of Mom Meet three OSU supporters who established student scholarships in honor of their mothers who taught them to value education.

The Power of One Endowed faculty positions attract renowned faculty researchers whose work, industry partnerships and reputation bring national acclaim to OSU.

The Art of Marketing

Professor John Mowen views the professoriate as a service profession in which he assists students as they advance intellectually.

Caught in a War Student Union assistant director Manny Al-Harake and his daughter Jamilah, a political science senior, were trapped in Lebanon for two weeks last July as war raged between Israel and Lebanon.

As curator of the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in Los Angeles, Steven Karr promotes greater understanding of the Native cultures of North America.

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Morrill Centennial Only Old Central and Morrill Hall still represent Oklahoma’s territorial period on campus.

74 D e pa r t m e n ts

President’s Letter

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Setting Up Camp 80 Last season’s floods severely damaged cabins at OSU’s geology field camp in Colorado, but dedicated alumni and friends hope to rebuild in time for the summer season.

Cultural Perspective

Campus News

Crossword 94 History 110 O r a n g e C o n n e cti o n s

Reality: Economic Impact

Alumni Profile

Chapters 90 Classnotes 96

P R E S I D E N T ’s l etter

This issue of STATE magazine is packed with the remarkable and far-reaching accomplishments of Oklahoma State University students, faculty and alumni. Of course, that is no real surprise. OSU people have been shining brightly for more than 100 years. As the state of Oklahoma prepares to celebrate its centennial next year, we are privileged to offer a beautiful new coffee-table book and DVD that pay tribute to our state’s 100th birthday by recognizing the many contributions of the men and women of OSU. Oklahoma State Portraits: Celebrating the Centennial of Oklahoma Statehood not only provides a fantastic view of our glorious past, it is helping preserve it. Proceeds from the sale of the book will fund the renovation of Old Central, the future home of the OSU Honors College. We owe a huge thanks to a number of OSU friends who made this project a reality through their generous donations. I can’t think of a better gift for the Cowboy or Cowgirl on your holiday shopping list, but be sure to get your own copy. This engaging and inspiring book belongs in the home of every member of the OSU family. (Shown on facing page.) As we enter the end-of-year holiday season, I want to send a warm thank you and best wishes from all of us at Oklahoma State University to our loyal alumni and friends around the world.

Dr. David J. Schmidly OSU System CEO & President

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S TAT E

Dear OSU Alumni and Friends,

Celebrating another successful year at Oklahoma State University. As the semester draws to a close, we celebrate the achievements of another successful year for OSU students, alumni, faculty and staff. We also look forward to 2007 and the new opportunities it will bring. Momentum abounds throughout the OSU System as never before. Construction continues on the football stadium. Students consistently win national scholarships and honors. And OSU faculty bring acclaim to the state for their research and teaching expertise. In October, we welcomed thousands of alumni, family and friends back to campus for our “Forever Orange” homecoming celebration. The weeklong event underscored that orange is not just a color; it is a connection that bonds current and former students forever to their alma mater, to each other and to special moments and memories. It is that connection to all things orange that we look forward to celebrating during the holiday season and the upcoming year. In this season of giving, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to those who have supported Oklahoma State through their time and resources. The OSU Foundation received record-breaking gifts last fiscal year allowing for greater student, faculty and research success. OSU is experiencing unprecedented progress and momentum, and our success is a testament to the immense loyalty of our alumni and friends. Thank you for the important role you continue to play in advancing the mission of our university.   Respectfully, Jerry Gill, president and CEO, OSU Alumni Association Kirk A. Jewell, president and CEO, OSU Foundation Kyle Wray, director, University Marketing

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university marketing

Kyle Wray / Director of University

Marketing

Janet Varnum, Eileen Mustain, Cory Cheney & Morgan Pratt / Editorial Valerie Kisling, Mark Pennie, Kim Houston, Paul V. Fleming, Paul Woodard & Matt Mueggenborg / Design Phil Shockley & Erika Contreras / Photography

University Marketing Office / 121 Cordell, Stillwater, OK 74078-8031 / 405.744.6262 / www.okstate.edu (web) / editor@okstate.edu (email) / advertising@okstate.edu (email) OSU Alumni Association

Calvin Anthony / Chairman Sam Combs / Vice Chairman Sean Kouplen / Immediate Past Chairman Jerry Gill / President and CEO, Non-voting Member

Kirk Jewell / President, OSU Foundation,

Non-voting Member

David Schmidly / OSU System CEO and President, Non-voting Member John Allford, Cory Bowker, Paul Cornell, Helen Craig, Rex Horning, Greg Massey, Ronda McKown, Ramona Paul, Gwen Shaw, Robin Wantland, Ron Ward & Jerry Winchester / board of Directors Deborah Shields / Secretary, Board of Directors

Larry Shell / Vice President and COO Melissa Mourer / Director of COMMUNICATIONS Lora Malone, Josh Pulver & Anne Scott / Communications Committee

201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center /

Stillwater, OK 74078-7043 / 800.433.4678 / www.orangeconnection.org / info@ orangeconnection.org OSU Foundation

Ken D. Greiner / CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Kirk A. Jewell / President and Chief Executive Officer

Bob Clyne / VICE PRESIDENT of DEVELOPMENT

Gary Clark / VICE PRESIDENT & GENERAL

COUNSEL

Donna Koeppe / Interim Vice PRESIDENT of Finance & administration Gene Batchelder, Monty Butts, John Clerico, Malinda Berry Fischer, Jerry Gill, Ellen Fleming, Rex Horning, Judy Johnson, John Linehan, Bond Payne, Barry Pollard, Scott Sewell & Jack Stuteville / BOARD OF

TRUSTEES

Becky Endicott / MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

Tara Klimo / COMMUNICATIONS Jonathan McCoy / creative services OSU Foundation / 400 South Monroe, P.O.

Box 1749 / Stillwater, OK 74076-1749 800.622.4678 / OSUgiving.com (web) bendicott@osugiving.com (email)

STATE magazine is published three times a year by Oklahoma State University, the OSU Alumni Association and the OSU Foundation, and is mailed to current members of the OSU Alumni Association. Magazine subscriptions available by membership in the OSU Alumni Association only. Membership cost is $45. Postage paid at Stillwater, OK, and additional mailing ofﬁces.

Oklahoma State University in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. Title IX of the Education Amendments and Oklahoma State University policy prohibit discrimination in the provision of services of benefits offered by the University based on gender. Any person (student, faculty or staff) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based upon gender may discuss their concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with the OSU Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Carolyn Hernandez, Director of Affirmative Action, 408 Whitehurst, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, (405) 744-5371 or (405) 744-5576 (fax). This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the Director of University Marketing, was printed by Southwest Stationery and Bank Supply at a cost of $1.28 per issue, 46M/November ’06/ Copyright © 2006, STATE magazine . All rights reserved.

photo/Phil Shockley

Postmaster: Send address changes to 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater, OK 74078-7043.

C A M P U S NE W S

Saving Lives Branson Receives Homeland Security Award

For more than two years, Professor Donna Branson and her colleagues have worked tirelessly to develop body armor capable of protecting a soldier’s arms, legs and lower back from shrapnel thrown by explosives and small-arms fire.   The team’s motivation has consistently focused on protecting soldiers in harm’s way, making a recent award even more meaningful, says Branson, Regents professor and director of OSU’s new Institute for Protective Apparel Research and Technology. Branson accepted the 2006 Homeland Security Award in Washington, D.C., from the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and AgustaWestland North America for her collaborative work on QuadGard®, a lightweight, flexible body armor for troops, as well as an earlier project, a personal portable cooling system for first responders funded by the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. QuadGard® has been used by military personnel for several months and has proven to be effective in protecting soldiers from blasts in actual combat situations. Branson says colleagues Semra Peksoz, Diane Ricord and Cheryl Farr as well as graduate students and undergraduates have worked diligently on each phase of the body armor project. The OSU team collaborated with industrial production partner FSTechnology, LLC, and the Naval and Army Research Laboratories. “Close collaboration between military, business and academic partners resulted in development, testing, redesign and retesting of the innovative body armor with technology transfer to Covercraft Industries in less than two years,” Branson says. “We achieved that short timeline because many individuals from OSU and our partner agencies worked long hours and dedicated their time and expertise 8

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to offer our soldiers a higher degree of protection.” Branson and her team are now developing a ballistic vest with 27 percent more coverage of the body at no extra weight, and a quick release feature to be used in an emergency to drop the vest in 15 seconds. It is already undergoing a first-stage military wear testing evaluation. Branson began her research on the body armor while head of the design, housing and merchandising department in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. Now, as director of the institute in the college, her work will focus on the design, performance testing and technology transfer of protective clothing. “It was a natural transition since we had been conducting various protective clothing research projects for some time,”

she says. “However, the time-sensitive nature of the body armor research and the comprehensiveness of the project illustrated the need for a way to facilitate such projects.” That vision includes product development with testing and redesign as components in the integrative design process, as well as additional areas of “functional” apparel for people outside the military such as police and SWAT teams. “We expect continued development of high-tech materials that should make it possible to live more comfortable lives while offering a higher degree of personal protection.”

Professor Donna Branson says the 2006 Homeland Security Award she received for her work on protective body armor is especially meaningful because her team’s motivation has constantly focused on protecting soldiers.

Flying into the Record Books

OSUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dragonfly set two world aviation records for endurance and distance, a feat drawing interest from the multibilliondollar unmanned aircraft industry. Thomas Hays and Dustin Gamble, OSU aerospace engineering students, designed and built the 14-foot, 11-pound experimental electric-powered aircraft under the guidance of OSU professor Andy Arena (right).

Achieving Greatness

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Governor’s Leadership Team Comes to OSU for Training

From Small Seeds… to Spring’s Promise

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both universities who presented valuable insights and tools for management. Diane Elliott, OSU program coordinator, says evaluations consistently praised the faculty leaders. “The professors make all the difference,” she says. Marketing professor Lee Manzer isn’t surprised the program’s latest customization appeals to government administrators as well as executives. “Leadership principles and concepts apply across a myriad of organizational environments,” he says. Participant evaluations also expressed appreciation for the chance to interact with peers. “The program included innovative ideas and practical applications that helped me grapple with leadership issues at my state agency,” one says. “It was also a great opportunity to interact with other state agency personnel who shared many of the same difficult problems.” Even though this was the first executive management program for government administrators, Weathers says the overwhelmingly positive responses indicate it won’t be the last. photo/Phil Shockley

The OSU-Oklahoma City Farmers’ Market will return to downtown Oklahoma City this spring with two new partners, the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and the city of Oklahoma City. Despite record heat and drought last year, the location proved successful in attracting visitors to the downtown area along Couch Avenue, nestled amid high-rise buildings, sculpture and fountains. “The OSU-OKC Farmers’ Market can be one of the best in the region, both for our state’s farmers and for downtown employees and residents,” says Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture Terry Peach, ’72, ag ed. “The numbers of employees in downtown and nearby can make this market a model.”

The evaluations are in. And Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry’s cabinet members and state agency leaders have given OSU high marks for a program presented by the Spears School of Business. The customized, four-and-a-halfday program was requested by the State Office of Personnel Management and approved by the governor. It featured management and leadership experts from OSU and the University of Oklahoma. “I’ve been to many leadership and management programs throughout my 18 years with the state,” says one participant, “but I can honestly say this was the Mount Everest of them all.” Julie Weathers, director of OSU’s Executive and Professional Development Center, works with professors to prepare the executive management program. “This was our first attempt to customize what we’ve been doing annually for corporate business executives into something that would benefit state leaders, and we’re obviously happy with the outcome,” she says. Weathers attributes the program’s success to the top-notch professors from

Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry recently joined OSU faculty and administrators to honor members of his cabinet and state agency leaders who completed a customized executive management program presented jointly by OSU and the University of Oklahoma. From left are Lee Manzer, marketing professor; Henry; Ken Eastman, head, management department; Raj Basu, OSU-Tulsa vice president for academic affairs, David Schmidly, OSU System CEO and president; and Sara Freedman, dean, Spears School of Business.

OSU rocks.

Elizabeth Catlos, assistant professor of geology, is the Geological Society of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2006 Top Young Scientist. The award recognizes young scientists for outstanding geological research that advances the earth sciences.

Achieving Greatness

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Photo/Terry Drenner

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Authority ushers in new chapter in medical education

Jeremy Fullingim and Jennifer Howell

Nation’s Top Resident Physicians Two 2003 graduates of OSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine have been named 2006 Merck Outstanding Residents of the Year by the American Osteopathic Foundation. Jeremy Fullingim, D.O., and Jennifer Howell, D.O., both residents at the OSU Medical Center in Tulsa (formerly Tulsa Regional Medical Center), are two of only four residents nationally to receive the honor. The awards are presented for dedication to the osteopathic philosophy, compassionate patient care, leadership skills and commitment to education and enrichment of self and others. Fullingim, a resident in diagnostic radiology, credits his uncle, Tulsa radiologist Dean Fullingim, D.O., with encouraging him to become an osteopathic physician. Howell says reconstructive surgery to correct a cleft lip changed her life for the better and inspired her to acquire the skills to help others.

Creation of the new OSU Medical Authority last spring signals a new chapter in OSU’s graduate medical education programs. Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry convened the first meeting of the OSU Medical Authority during which the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine and Tulsa Regional Medical Center signed a 50-year academic affiliation agreement to be managed by the OSU Medical Authority. The state legislature appropriated $40 million over the next five years to fund improvements at the teaching hospital, renamed OSU Medical Center. The hospital is owned and operated by Nashville-based Ardent Health Services, yet OSU will largely manage and operate the residency program. The governor conducted the meeting until David Johnson of Tulsa was elected chairman. Henry calls the event a significant moment in Oklahoma health care.

OSU students consider themselves winners, too. “The creation of the authority symbolizes the state’s recognition of OSU’s role in the health care needs of the state and in teaching future physicians,” says Kevin Pargeter, second-year medical student. “It gives our school a solid foundation in perpetuity. It has our needs and patients’ needs at heart.” As president of the OSU Student Osteopathic Medicine Association, second-year medical student Kipp Slicker agrees. “Our future is not in question anymore,” he says. “We will be able to do amazing things.” Sarah Luthey, second-year student and head of the school’s student ambassador program, says the agreement will boost OSU recruitment efforts and provide students with more residency programs. “And more graduates will stay in-state for their graduate training.” Marla Schaefer

Photo/Terry Drenner

karen Senger

OSU medicine students Kevin Pargeter, Kipp Slicker and Sarah Luthey attend the first meeting of the OSU Medical Authority, which manages an agreement for graduate medical education at OSU Medical Center in Tulsa. 12

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Breaking the Mold Jim Smay, assistant professor of chemical engineering, received the Presidential Early Career Award, the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest honor for promising young scientists and engineers.

The award recognizes Smayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development of an innovative three-dimensional printing technology that allows engineers to create prototypes without the need for traditional machining and molding processes.

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OSU Trombonist Wins International Competition Sophomore Isaac Washam won first place at the 2006 International Trombone Festival in Birmingham, England, in the classical solo category for trombonists ages 18 and under. Of the 27 contestants submitting recorded auditions, Washam was one of only three in his category selected to compete live at the annual competition last July. All three finalists had to perform Edward Gregson’s Tenor Trombone Concerto and John Kenny’s Fanfare for unaccompanied trombone for three judges representing the United Kingdom, Brazil and Germany.

“This award will undoubtedly open doors for Isaac,” says Paul Compton, associate professor of music. “Previous winners of this competition have gone on to positions in the best ensembles in the world, including the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and the United States Army Band.” “Isaac is a committed musician,” Compton says. “Winning this competition is a real indication of great things to come.” photo/phil shockley

Showing arrays created for the NASA mission are, from left, Warren Lewis, assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology; Dan Hern, aviation and space education graduate student; Aaron Bookout, mechanical engineering junior; and Steve Marks, professor of aviation education and director of OSU’s Aerospace Education Services Program.

Students’ NASA project out of this world

Paul Compton, left, and Isaac Washam

OSU mechanical engineering technology students designed and built more than 200 solar cell arrays for NASA and the International Space Station. During last August’s mission, the Atlantis space shuttle crew installed solar arrays to double the station’s ability to generate power from sunlight. Astronaut Chris Ferguson asked OSU’s Aerospace Education Services Program for assistance in developing an educational component for the mission, and administrators turned to OSU’s Mechanical Engineering Technology Department. Students began production in the Manufacturing Development Lab last May. Ferguson used the OSU-designed arrays to conduct demonstrations for NASA Explorer School students throughout the nation. “This is great opportunity for our students,” says Warren Lewis, assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology. “Not only do they get to partner with NASA, their work is propelling scientific knowledge forward beyond the reaches of the earth.” Adam Huffer

Winter 2006

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photo by John DeCesare

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Visit www.orangeconnection.org/alumnicenter.htm to Book Your Event Today! 405.744.2509 â&#x20AC;˘ 800.433.4678 alumni.center@okstate.edu

drianne Tierney knew she would enjoy taking a writing class at OSU-Tulsa. What she didn’t know was that it would reveal her passion for storytelling and lay the academic groundwork for her career. Tierney, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies, was initially apprehensive about pursuing a college degree, but the encouragement Worth up to $50,000 she found at OSU annually, Cooke inspired her to scholarships are compete for and based on academic ultimately win one achievement and of the most prestifinancial need as gious and competiwell as the will to tive graduate succeed, leadership scholarships in the nation. qualities and comTierney is munity involvement. OSU’s first student to be named a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholar and the only student from Oklahoma to be honored this year. “Adrianne’s significant achievement is representative of the high level of scholars that OSU attracts,” says OSU System CEO and President David Schmidly. “We are extremely proud that OSU students continue to exhibit their talents and leadership through academic excellence.” After taking a four-year break, Tierney came to OSU-Tulsa because she was interested in getting back in school, says her academic adviser, Terri Blevins. “In the beginning, Adrianne didn’t have a lot of confidence to earn her college degree,” Blevins says. “But once she got started and enjoyed the coursework, there was no holding her back.” Tierney discovered she loved writing and

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OSU graduate Adrianne Tierney is using her Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship for graduate study in fine arts and fictional writing at Sarah Lawrence College in New York.

was motivated by her classmates’ reaction to her work. “Writing presented me with a new set of challenges and opened new doors of creative expression for me,” she says.

“It gave me a way to channel my tenacity and perseverance into stories that were cathartic as well as inspiring to those around me.” Tierney even got permission to take a Ph.D. writing course simply for the experience, Blevins says. “For her, it wasn’t about just fulfilling the credit hours she needed to graduate. Adrianne wanted to push herself and get that high level of instruction to learn all she could about writing.” Tierney is now studying fine arts and fictional writing at Sarah Lawrence College in New York. “OSU is known for our high-performance scholars,” says Robert Graalman, director of OSU’s office of Scholar Development and Recognition, which assists students competing for national scholarships and study abroad programs. “Adrianne’s going to be a wonderful scholar, writer and citizen,” he says. “I learned a lot about determination from working with her and am glad she found her way to OSU.” OSU-Tulsa President Gary Trennepohl praises Tierney. “Adrianne joins a select group of students in her accomplishment, including scholars from Stanford, Rice, Columbia and Princeton,” Trennepohl says. “Adrianne’s award reflects on her considerable talents and hard work, as well as OSU’s dedicated faculty. We’re extremely proud of her.” Trish McBeath

OSU-Tulsa President Gary Trennepohl; Teresa Miller, executive director of the Center for Oklahoma Poets and Writers; OSU-Tulsa academic adviser Terri Blevins; Adrianne Tierney; and Robert Graalman, director of OSU Scholar Development and Recognition, gather at a reception in Tulsa to honor OSU’s first Jack Kent Cooke scholar.

photo/Phil shockley

A Suite Start on Learning

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Housing options please students and activities within the house to help floor residents get involved with their college. In addition to CMs, the learning communities have floor faculty advisers sk most residents of — professors in the residents’ college who the new learning communivisit frequently, offering tutoring opporties in the OSU Village Suites tunities and sharing college information whether they’d rather experiwith students. ence life in a traditional residence hall, Kennedy Lewellen, elementary and you’ll probably get the same answer education freshman, who lives on — no way. Watterson’s floor, says the setup with The six-building complex built on a lounge area, patio and study room the old Willham residence halls site encourages residents to spend time as offers hotel-style accommodations like well as study together. private rooms and bathrooms but gives “We’ve created a whole family effect students another advantage over many just by bonding and hanging out in the dorm-dwellers — the chance to live commons area,” she says. among students within their colleges. Kevin Sloan, food science freshman, Being near students with similar points to the floor kitchen, with a fullacademic interests helps freshmen ease size refrigerator, oven and microwave, into university-level classwork and make as yet another plus. He says he enjoys friends, says Becki Watterson, child and cooking meals for his floormates there in family services sophomore, who lives in the evenings. the College of Human Environmental As a transfer student, Sloan rememSciences House. bers what it was like at his previous “Since a lot of these students are school to share a bedroom and commustudying the same thing, they have a nity bathroom with students he hardly better chance of being in each others’ knew. classes,” Watterson says. “Everything here is just so much She lived in a traditional residence better,” he says. hall as a freshman and can appreciate the Village Suites includes learning differences in housing. communities for journalism and broad“Last year, I met all the people in my casting students, as well as for those major through classes, and I had to go to seeking admission to various healthcare their residence halls or we had to meet professions. at the library to study,” she says. “These Students also can choose to live students have easier access to each other.” in new communities with others who Watterson serves as a Village Suites share common experiences or interests, community mentor or “CM,” which such as the Career Exploration House, means she schedules academic programs which accommodates students who haven’t yet decided on a career path, and College of Human Environmental Sciences the Transfer Zone, which gives transfer House floormates, from left, Kennedy students a place to share a connection Lewellen, elementary education freshman; with their floormates. The Recovery Kevin Sloan, food science freshman; and House is an addition that provides Becki Watterson, child and family services sophomore, enjoy spending time together outside the classroom in their floor lounge.

assistance to students who have been working through the initial stages of drug or alcohol dependency. Although residential learning communities have been expanded, they are not a new concept at OSU. Stout Hall houses students in the Honors College program, and female engineering students can live together in Allen Hall. Similar academic communities also have been in place for several years. Shiretta Ownbey, associate dean for the College of Human Environmental Sciences, says she is excited students from other colleges and majors now have similar residential options available in such luxurious environments. “Our college and others on campus had wanted to establish similar communities, and the newly constructed buildings

provided the perfect setting to get started the right way,” she says. About 60 students are living in the College of Human Environmental Sciences House this year, and Ownbey says she expects that number to climb as more students begin to see and hear about its advantages. Lewellen says she already feels at home in her learning community and won’t hesitate to take advantage of the academic and social opportunities she is being offered. “Even the older students in the building have already taken my classes, so they can give me advice,” she says. “Everybody here really wants everybody else to succeed.” Morgan Pratt

More than a Mascot Pistol Pete is more than a mascot. To children, he’s a hero. To students and alumni, he’s an icon and a symbol of pride. And to the small circle of alumni who portrayed the famous mascot, Pistol Pete represents a special brotherhood. OSU’s mascot became part of university tradition in 1923 after students witnessed the original Pistol Pete — local lawman Frank Eaton — in Stillwater’s Armistice Day parade. In 1958, a student donned the now-famous head and outfit, and Pistol Pete became a fixture at OSU sporting events. Three alumni who portrayed Pistol Pete during their student years — Scott Petty, Lance Millis and John Price — say wearing the head was more than just becoming a mascot. It was becoming someone who lives and breathes the OSU spirit — something they still do today. Each lives and works in Stillwater and attributes the role of Pistol Pete to influencing his life today.

Scott Petty

Scott Petty says interacting with children was one of his favorite activities as Pistol Pete in the mid-1980s.

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Pistol Pete from 1985-1987 When Scott Petty came to OSU from Guymon, Okla., he knew he wanted to be Pistol Pete. One of his fraternity brothers, Rick Wilson, had portrayed Pete and helped Petty through the audition. “I got to go put on the head at Rick’s house and experience what it was like to have limited vision,” Petty says. “He had a big mirror so I got to work on my walk, and he gave me some pointers and helped educate me on how the process worked.” Petty says the role gave him a new perspective of the university. And working at events for the Alumni Association and OSU Foundation helped him decide he wanted to work with people after graduation. “I thought what a cool experience to be able to be a part of the Alumni Association and the OSU Foundation, which deal with alumni who want to be involved on campus,” he says. “It was really novel to realize there were people who wanted to do something for the university.”

Petty also enjoyed working with children. “Pete has a huge impact on children,” he says. “They’re either scared to death of him or they’re absolutely enamored with this giant cartoon character that’s alive.” He remembers visiting an elementary school in Midwest/Del City, where he read to fifth-graders as part of Read Across America. “That was a very poignant experience,” Petty says. “It was actually one of those ambassador-type events where Pete represents the university in a different fashion.” Pete’s impact really hit home when Petty judged tryouts three years ago. “We asked an applicant why he wanted to be Pete, and he said, ‘I met Pistol Pete when I was 3 years old and I had my picture made with him,’” Petty says. “I looked down at his resume and realized that was in 1986 when I was Pete!” Petty met his wife, Gerri, while he was Pete, and jokes she only dated him because he was Pistol Pete. They have two children, Catherine, 11, and Will, 9.

Lance Millis Pistol Pete from 1987-1988 Lance Millis decided he wanted to be Pistol Pete after seeing a few of his fraternity brothers in the role. “A couple of other guys who were older than me were Pistol Pete in successive years,” Millis says. “It seemed like a lot of fun, and it looked like something I’m crazy enough to do.” Playing the role of Pistol Pete created a connection to the real Frank Eaton, says Millis, who continued to research Eaton after graduating. “To realize that eight years before I was born there was a guy living who had been a deputy U.S. marshal — a real-life Cowboy who had gunfights. That just brought history a lot closer.” Millis says no matter what activity, involvement strengthens one’s commitment to the university. “It got me connected more closely to the university,” he says. “I was a sports fan anyway and loved OSU, but it definitely strengthened that.”

Millis says children love Pistol Pete, and even if they’re scared of him, they still want to be around him. “Children have to know where Pete is at all times during football games,” he says. “That’s OSU to them.” Millis and his wife, Linda, an OSU alumna, have two daughters Lauren, 5, and Lindsay, 3. The alumni who portrayed Pistol Pete can be described as a brotherhood, Millis says, and it’s usually a wild occasion when they get together. Pete alumni find that friends are still excited to learn they were once such a famous mascot. “To this day, people that recently came to know I was Pistol Pete will still introduce me as Pistol Pete,” Millis says. His most meaningful moment was when he was contacted by the Make-aWish Foundation. A little boy had come back from meeting the U.S. president and said he had a wonderful time, but what he really wanted to do was meet Pistol Pete. “He came over to a baseball game and we played catch,” he says. “He wrote a really neat thank-you note that I still have.”

John Price

John Price, who portrayed the famous mascot in the late-1980s, believes Pistol Pete is the ultimate goodwill ambassador for OSU.

Pistol Pete from 1988-1990 John Price grew up in Stillwater enjoying Cowboy sporting events. As an OSU student, he had never thought about who Pete was, but when he saw an ad for Spirit Squad tryouts, he thought it would be a lot of fun. Price says he’ll always remember portraying Pete at big events like homecoming, but he’ll never forget the small events either. He recalls attending a little boy’s birthday party where his muchanticipated arrival made the little boy extremely happy. Even though it snowed that morning, he didn’t want to cancel and disappoint the family. “I will never forget — the little boy jumped up and looked at his mom and said, ‘I told you he’d come! I told you’d he come!’” he says. “It really meant a lot to him that Pete came out in the snow and made it to his birthday party.

Lance Millis (as Pistol Pete) poses with his grandfather, Burton Millis, in 1988. He says friends still introduce him as Pistol Pete.

“That’s just always made such an impression on me. When you do the day-in and day-out events and experiences, you forget the impact Pete sometimes can have on the individual.” When Price had the opportunity to come back to Stillwater after graduation, he did. He and his wife, Suzee, and their children, Quentin, 10, MacGregor, 9, Payton, 7, and Ellery, 4, love living in a college town with all it has to offer. “One of the absolute highlights for them is the walkaround,” he says. “They look forward to that every year.” Price says the mascot has not changed since he portrayed Pete. “I think Pete is a physical representation of the OSU spirit,” he says. “We’re fortunate to have a mascot with historical ties to the place and the people. I think having Pistol Pete as OSU’s mascot provides an opportunity for a unique sense of pride and history.” Rachel Weaver

Winter 2006

‘Bug’ Identifying the

S e n s o r Te l l s Yo u W h a t A i l s Yo u

photo/Phil Shockley

OSU physicist James Harmon and post-doctoral research associate Amanda L. Oliver have discovered a way to detect almost any virus, bacteria or toxin using sensor technology.

Every year, up to 500,000 people worldwide die from the flu while millions more become severely ill.

cholera toxins, markers produced by cancer cells and influenza virus, including bird flu. These biological sensors, like the chemical sensors, are capable of detecting Countless others around the globe 50 viruses in a sneeze droplet.  succumb to pneumonia, staff, AIDS, SARS, Equally important, the sensor can E. coli, dysentery and environmental toxins distinguish between human and animal such as pesticides and insecticides. viruses.  OSU physicist James Harmon, who’s “It’s just freshman-level physics,” says known nationally for developing sensors Harmon, who taught physics at OSU for that can detect chemical weapons, has 26 years before turning to research full discovered a way to detect almost any virus, time. “Everything we do is right out of the bacteria or toxin using sensor technology. literature and based on the basic tenet, His inexpensive, portable sensor ‘Cells obey the laws of chemistry.’ responds fully in less than 1 second and can Harmon’s sensor uses commercially detect agents down to sub-part-per-trillion available molecules immobilized on a glass levels. The handheld unit can detect explosurface to mimic the actual biological sives, nerve agents, weapons of mass destruc- action — and therefore identify — the tion and environmental pollutants.  specific virus, bacteria or toxin. Now Harmon and his team can “The successful development of identify biological materials including these sensors incorporates information 24

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and techniques from physics, chemistry, biochemistry and cell biology.”   Cancer detection is also possible because the sensors can be equipped to identify specific markers produced by various cancers. Early detection – before symptoms even begin to appear — could save lives by giving doctors a head start on treatment. “I would love to see sensors for everyone,” says Harmon, who filed a patent on the technology a year ago. “I would like to see a pharmaceutical company market the sensors to physicians and the general public. “My goal is that every school nurse, doctor’s office, medical clinic, emergency room and paramedic has one.” Janet Varnum

Art Collection Mystery Leads

Student Along Path of Self-Discovery

ou might say art historians are really sleuths at heart. Quietly and persistently, they decipher clues within the brush strokes, identifying artists and styles and shedding light on political, religious and cultural influences.

Plum Orchard

he opportunity to research a rare and little-known collection of original Japanese art became a lifechanging experience for graduate student Linda Fleming. Not only did her work win a Graduate Research Excellence Award and pique the interest of the renowned Arts of Asia magazine, it renewed a latent interest in art history and opened doors for further research and career possibilities. The opportunity to research the enigmatic art collection arose in her Japanese art history class. “I was considering a totally different field when I came back to school full time,” says Fleming, who returned to college as an international studies graduate student with a business emphasis. “But Nancy Wilkinson, who was director of OSU’s School of International Studies, suggested I enroll in her Japanese art history class that she taught in the OSU Art Department. “Dr. Wilkinson is so passionate about her area of expertise that I enthusiastically enrolled in the class and, then, other related Asian classes. I became hooked on the wonder and uniqueness of Japanese art and culture, and renewed my first love, art history.” photos courtesy Leon Staab/Fort Hays State University

Winter 2006

Jurojin

The only known information about the collection came from Stroup, founder of the nursing program at Fort Hays State University. Fleming learned that Stroup purchased the art while serving as an Army nurse in Korea at the end of World War II. “I am indebted to this charismatic woman who ‘rescued’ the scrolls by purchasing them in the immediate post-World War II upheaval,” Fleming says. “Leora Stroup’s eclectic collection furnishes a snapshot of the unprecedented diversity of painting styles within the Edo period from 1615 to 1868 and is a testimony to the cultural achievements occurring in Japan during these centuries. I’ve also started collecting research materials about Stroup in order to write her story.” Stroup shared her limited knowledge regarding the works’ approximate dates and possible artists with the university, but because she wasn’t an artist or an art historian the assumptions needed to be authenticated. “Linda essentially had to start from scratch,” Sirhandi says. “She had to determine the approximate time period and artistic movement that best fit her chosen works and find an artist whose work was in the same style.” Even though Fleming’s research became the basis for her master’s thesis, her work parallels doctoral-level effort, Sirhandi says. “Ph.D. dissertations consist of original research; master’s degrees typically rely on material that is already known.” (Continues on next page)

Flowers and Leaves

One day in fall 2004, Wilkinson told the class about a research opportunity with the Leora Stroup Collection of Japanese art at Fort Hays State University in Kansas. Wilkinson and another art department colleague, Marcella Sirhandi, were invited to inspect the collection by one of Sirhandi’s former students at the Art Institute of Kansas City who was now a junior faculty member at Fort Hays. When Wilkinson said the scrolls would be a great source for research, “I ran up after class and ‘signed on!’” Fleming says. A couple of months later in January 2005, they traveled to Fort Hays to photograph the art so Fleming could begin her research. “Experiencing the opportunity to research the Leora Stroup Collection is like finding treasures in the attic or discovering a valuable object at a flea market or estate sale,” Fleming says. None of the 40 works of various sizes and styles painted on silk scrolls or mulberry paper had been researched or published before. “In our estimation, these were rare examples,” says Sirhandi, an expert in artwork of Pakistan and India. “They are rare in the sense that it’s a fairly large collection of authentic, original paintings from different artists dating from the 17th to 20th centuries. “The way the collection came to Fort Hays adds to their mystique and value,” she says.

Award-winning graduate student Linda Fleming, third from left, credits three art faculty mentors, Mark White, Marcella Sirhandi and Nancy Wilkinson, with encouraging her to unravel mysteries of the Leora

Stroup Collection of Japanese art. photo/Phil Shockley

Detail from Jurojin

In her thesis, Fleming highlights four paintings from the collection. Jurojin, a figural painting of the Japanese god of longevity, was attributed to the Unkoku School by Stroup. But Fleming questions the attributed time frame by exploring the art’s rich iconography, style and painting techniques. Sirhandi says Fleming’s research on Jurojin illustrates the crossover between Chinese and Japanese style and iconography. Two other paintings, one called Cherry Blossoms and Leaves and the other, Flowers and Leaves, had been attributed to artist Sakai Hoichi by Stroup. Yet Fleming discovered the paintings appear to be the work of the samurai artist Sakai HŌitsu. “Linda has greatly expanded the knowledge about HŌitsu, which will contribute to the field of Edo period painting,” Sirhandi says. “Linda went well beyond determining the time period and style and the movement it related to, not to mention the artist’s name. “She ferreted out the life story and artistic background of the artist and showed how and why his art deviated from that of his colleagues. She discovered how family history and status, talent, economics and politics can motivate an artist and influence even the manner in which he paints.” Fleming discovered valuable information about Plum Orchard while attempting to verify Okada HankŌ as artist. She credits Mark White, associate professor of art history and member of her thesis committee, with encouraging her to pursue the meaning of the calligraphy. Using the expertise

of three Japanese translators, she verifies other artists’ names and a date, title and a portion of a poem from the painting but no evidence of Okada HankŌ. Fleming says studying and researching Asian and, in particular, Japanese art, has been a joyful and thrilling surprise of self-discovery. “I’ve learned how much I enjoy researching and telling people about Asian art. “This collection illustrates the curiosity and complex interests of its artists, whose styles supplied the court aristocrats, the Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, the samurai class, and the burgeoning, wealthy, social-climbing chŌnin or merchant class,” Fleming says. “I am indebted to Fort Hays State University for allowing me to access the art.” Sirhandi, Wilkinson and White praise Fleming’s thoroughness, and Sirhandi says she isn’t surprised it has opened unexpected areas of unrelated interest. “Being an art historian is being a sleuth,” she says, “and a lover of ‘beauty.’” Fleming’s quest led her to many museums and museum websites, an internship with Tulsa’s Philbrook Museum and even a trip to Japan where she discussed calligraphy with one of the world’s foremost authorities. “Before entering OSU, I never would have imagined these things happening to me,” says Fleming, who is studying the Japanese language and plans to pursue a Ph.D. “OSU has given me opportunities to meet talented scholars in the field of art history and other fields, research sources, travel and, perhaps most importantly, find a path for my life.” Janet Varnum

photo courtesy Leon Staab/ Fort Hays State University

Winter 2006

photos/Todd Johnson

hanks to a partnership between OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences and the Presbyterian Health Foundation, the veterinary center opened a new research facility this fall. This statewide resource based at OSU is important as it expands the center’s capabilities to continue biodefense and emerging infectious diseases research. “This is one of only four similar facilities in the region,” says Dr. Michael Lorenz, professor and dean of the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.

“It brings our resources up to the current national safety and security standards so we can increase our emerging infectious diseases research, which is very important to animal and human health,” Lorenz says. “The facility is available to scientists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation as well as other scientists across the region.” Projects that will benefit from the new facility include a current partnership between OSU’s veterinary center and the Baylor College of Medicine and planned projects with the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. There are also economic benefits to the new facility. With the increased capabilities, OSU researchers will have

an opportunity to bring in new grants and contracts to the state and increase the influx of federal dollars. “This partnership has made it possible for us to provide a much-needed resource for OSU as well as other entities in the state and in the region,” says Michael Anderson, president of the Presbyterian Health Foundation. OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences is part of the Western Regional Center for Bio Defense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, a medical center funded by the National Institutes of Health and based in Galveston, Texas. The region covers Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Trena Sutton

photo / Phil Shockley

Following in the footsteps of a coaching legend is never easy. Yet for Sean Sutton, taking over as head coach after his father, Eddie, is a blessing and an honor. As the Sutton family moves into a new era, Trena Sutton is prepared to take on the challenge as wife of a head coach. Trena transferred to OSU from a junior college in Paris, Texas, where she played basketball. Although she didn’t play the sport at OSU, she worked with the women’s Following his famous father might be a challenge for OSU men’s team for two years. basketball coach Sean Sutton, but Sean’s wife, Trena, says ultimately “I have been here since,” Trena says. “It’s home. Sean, of it’s still just basketball and coaching with a desire to succeed. course, played basketball, and Trena says. “She’s taught me says. “He’s not so much fun to our paths crossed every day. so much and she truly doesn’t be around after a loss, so we The rest is history.” hear anything that goes on in kind of give him his space.” She says her family is ready the arena around her. I’m not Winning is almost more for Sean’s role as head coach. quite there yet, but I’m trying important to Sean because “I think this first year there to get there. There should be of their sons, ages 14, 9, and will definitely be more pressome kind of class for coaches’ 4, she says, and when there sure because of the expecwives to teach them all they is a loss, the boys are just as tations everybody has for competitive and focused on getting a good recruiting class need to know.” Even though the game the game as their dad. and having a good season. of basketball is loved by the When Trena is not at one He wants to do great this Sutton family, it does affect of the OSU basketball games, first year. the family, especially after a she is usually working with “Aside from that, there loss because of Sean’s competi- her sons on their sporting are more things expected of tive nature and drive to win. activities. us; but it really is the same “We tell him we’re sorry “I am usually shagging because Sean wanted to win about the loss, and then we basketballs or catching just as much as an assistant pretty much leave him alone pitches. Most of the time, we coach as he does as a head are outside doing some kind coach. That has not changed.” to study the game tape and try to figure out how he could of sports. Knowing Sean’s Trena says Sean considers have won the game,” Trena not going to be there a lot of it an honor to coach at Eddie the time, I have to be mom Sutton Court. and dad.” “His dad is a legend, and it’s “I think this first Trena says she believes an honor for people to admire year there will Sean is bound for nothing and respect his dad the way definitely be more but success. they do. Sean’s been waiting pressure because “He has dreamed of this his for this. Head coaching is whole life. And I believe he of the expectations what he has always wanted will have a national champito do.” everybody has onship,” she says. “It will be During games, she admits for getting a good rewarding because he’s worked she can get as excited as every- recruiting class and so hard for it — our whole body else, although she tries having a good season. family has. A national champito hold her tongue. He wants to do great onship would be really special.” “I have learned a lot from this first year.” my mother-in-law, Patsy,”

It’s been said that behind every great man is a great woman. This is especially true of Shelley Budke, Julie Sanchez, Toni Smith and Trena Sutton. Each is married to an OSU head coach and has learned how to deal with the ups and downs of the season while living in the public spotlight. For them, life off the court, mat or ring revolves around their husband, their children, and just as often, the team.

S tories by kathryn bo l ay

To read more, visit: www.magazine.okstate.edu 30

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Julie Sanchez Developing a career in collegiate sports can be difficult, but for Larry and Julie Sanchez, building the OSU equestrian program has been a family activity. Julie, a city girl from northern California, met Larry during her junior year of nursing school at the University of Colorado. “We met at a Garth Brooks concert,” she says. “And I wasn’t even a country music fan.” After marrying, they moved to Las Cruces, N.M.,

where Larry began coaching the New Mexico State Equestrian Team. “I didn’t know too much about horses until I met Larry,” Julie says. “When I met him it was definitely a new world for me.” In 1998, OSU contacted Larry about the coaching position for the OSU Equestrian Team. “He just came to see what was out here because we were not looking to move at all. When he came out here, he called me and said, ‘You are going to

love it.’” The following January, the couple and their two children, ages 1 and 3, moved to Stillwater. “It is such a family community here,” Julie says. “It is also a college town, which I think makes it fun. There are so many things for families to do here, and it is a safe place.” Larry was also excited about the opportunity to build a strong program and have the resources to obtain quality competitors.

“Larry is always striving for improvement, even if he is doing the best he can. I guess that is what makes him a good coach.”

photo / Erika Contreras

Julie Sanchez, whose husband Larry Sanchez is OSU’s equestrian coach, says she enjoys the connection between the team and her family.

“It was a great opportunity for him and for the girls on the team,” Julie says. “He kept saying ‘I can offer them so much more here. I can offer them scholarships.’” “Thankfully, Larry has been successful here,” says Julie, who balances her time between children and her part-time job at the Stillwater Surgery Center. “With his personality, Larry is always striving for improvement, even if he is doing the best he can,” she says. “He always thinks he can do better. I guess that is what makes him a good coach.” But when losses do occur, she tries to be supportive. “I think part of my job is to keep giving him a pep talk and tell him he is doing a great job,” she says. “And to continue being the support person at home for him.” Julie also helps out with their own horses that they breed, train and compete with as members of the American

Quarter Horse Association. And when Larry is out of town coaching, she takes responsibility for their care. “I really enjoy the horses, but I am not as comfortable with them as he is,” she says. “When he is home, he spends a lot of time with the horses. And now that the kids are older, it’s something we can all do together. He lets them groom and ride the horses and teaches them about horse behavior. That’s our family time together.” Julie says both of their children, Colton and Caitlyn, enjoy horses, and Caitlyn is looking forward to competing in the near future. “She really looks up to the girls on the team,” Julie says. “She has some really good role models there.” In addition to his work with the OSU Equestrian Team, Larry chairs the Varsity Steering Committee responsible for developing the rules and competition format of collegiate equestrian. The committee also provides information to universities interested in adding the sport at the varsity level. Even with the sacrifices and the ups and downs of competition, Julie enjoys the connection that the equestrian team provides for the team members and her family. “I am proud of him,” Julie says. “We have a great group of girls — 59 on the team — and he has a good rapport with them. I think they really respect him, and he really cares about them and what they are doing. “He wants them to succeed in the classroom, and he wants them to be an asset to the community. I think he is a good role model for them.”

As the newest coaching family in Stillwater, Kurt and Shelley Budke are beginning to find their place in the community. Budke, the OSU women’s basketball coach, is in his second year at Oklahoma State. The couple met at Friends University in Wichita, Kan., where Kurt began his coaching career with the men’s team while Shelley played for the women’s team. “After we were married, we worked in Kansas City for two years before moving to Iola, Kansas, where he started coaching women’s basketball,” Shelley says. The Budkes then bounced from a junior college in Athens, Texas, to Louisiana Tech University before landing in Stillwater. “Kurt’s always said he wanted to coach in the Big 12. But we knew we couldn’t go from junior college right into a Division I job — that doesn’t happen very often. We knew there were going to be moves in between,” she says.

“I think you have to say it and believe it before it will happen. If you don’t ever believe you can win the Big 12 title, then you won’t.” Shelley believes her interest in basketball and her experience as a player gives her a greater understanding of the expectations and demands on a head basketball coach and his family. “I know there are families that make it, but if you didn’t like basketball or have never played the game, I think it would be hard,” Shelley says. “Having played college basket32

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ball, I am aware of the work it takes to be successful.” Yet, with three kids thrown into the mix, there is more to consider than just the love of basketball. The Budkes’ have three children, Sara, 16, Alex, 14, and Brett, 10. “They have adjusted much better than I thought they would,” Shelley says. “It was definitely hard on them, especially the older two, but it’s probably been our smoothest move as far as getting to know people.” Shelley says she’s enjoyed getting to know the Stillwater and OSU communities. “I find myself falling in love with the town, and I know Kurt and I could live here the rest of our lives.” The family been impressed with Stillwater as well as the enthusiasm and traditions of OSU students and alumni. “It’s awesome,” she says. “The facilities are unbelievable and the traditions are second to none. I can’t imagine an athlete walking onto this Having played college basketball, Shelley Budke believes she has a campus and then choosing to better understanding of the demands facing her husband, Kurt Budke, attend another university. ” women’s basketball coach. Even though last year was a tough season, Shelley says support from the OSU She believes the key is to believe it before it will happen. community and basketball bring excitement to the gym If you don’t ever believe you can fans makes it easier to support and get the students involved. win the Big 12 title, then you her husband while he’s facing “I don’t show my emotions won’t.” the challenges of building a a lot, but if something good Even though life can be quality program. happens, you bet I’m the first demanding, Shelley says she “Last year was definitely one out of my chair,” she says. wouldn’t trade it because she a tough year, but Kurt does “But if things aren’t going well, loves the game and her husband. such a good job of not bringI try not to overreact because I “There are a lot of great opporing home the bad. Sometimes know how hard the girls work tunities, such as travel, that I it carries over, but he doesn’t everyday.” wouldn’t get to do otherwise. sit around and mope about it Shelley anticipates the day But there is also the bad side of all the time. her husband leads OSU to being a ‘single parent’ and not “The fans last year were so its first women’s basketball having Kurt home every night awesome. Even though we Big 12 title and all the hard from mid-October until after did not have a good year, I did work and dedication to the the Final Four in April. I guess not hear one negative thing,” program pays off. there’s good and bad with any Shelley says. “Everyone just “We were actually just talkoccupation, but I wouldn’t trade kept saying, ‘We believe. ing about winning a Big 12 my life with anyone.” We’re going to support you. title last night,” Shelley says. Keep working hard.’” “I think you have to say it and photo / Erika Contreras

Shelley Budke

Toni Smith Continuing a tradition that started at OSU in 1916 is no easy task, yet for wrestling coach John Smith and his wife, Toni, creating a family atmosphere around the sport has allowed for much success in his 16-year career at OSU. Toni Smith, who came to OSU in 1985 from Oologah, Okla., is glad her husband was able to find a coaching job in Oklahoma. “I could have ended up a long way from home,” Toni says. “It really was my dream to stay in Oklahoma.” John and Toni met as OSU students, and have never thought of leaving. While John coaches, Toni stays busy home-schooling their four children, ages 3, 5, 7 and 9. “One of the reasons we decided to home-school was because John has really odd hours,” Toni says. “That way, I can bring the kids up here to

see him during the day, especially when things get really crazy during the season.” The Smiths’ love for OSU and the Stillwater community is often transferred to the wrestlers who become part of the family. “Compared to more urban schools, OSU has more of a homey feel,” Toni says. “It’s such a welcoming place, and wrestling at OSU is like a big family.” Toni and the kids enjoy being able to show their support for the team. “I really love the matches,” Toni says. “The NCAA tournament is one of the most exciting times. Our oldest gets to travel with his dad quite a bit, and I think one of the best things for the kids is they are learning at a young age how to interact with adults.” Not only does Toni attend the matches, she also invites the recruits and the team

members to her house on a regular basis. At the Smiths’ house, the wrestlers are welcome to ride horses, play with the kids, eat dinner and just relax. “I love to cook, and it gives me an opportunity to take care of and feed a lot of boys who are good eaters,” she says. Over the years, both Toni and John have developed a parental mentality for the wrestlers on the team, especially those who have traveled from other states to wrestle at OSU. “When John started coaching, we were only three or four years older than most of the team,” Toni says. “Now, I’m as old as a lot of their mothers and older than a few. We are pseudo-parents for a number of boys on the team. “I feel like my kids, especially my boys, have a dream childhood,” Toni says. “They always have wrestlers wrestling with them and are

surrounded by all these elite athletes.” Toni says she’s enjoyed watching her husband develop as a coach as well as the program’s success under his control. “John never brings wrestling problems home,” Toni says. “I think that is the secret to a happy marriage with a coach. It’s like a doctor — any conversations he has with the boys are private. Past the starters, I don’t know who is not pulling their weight or having trouble in practice.”

“I always try to pull out the best thing I can find about him and the team and highlight that because so many people criticize coaches.”

photo / Phil Shockley

This provides a home where John can get away from the worries of coaching and just enjoy being a father and husband, Toni says, and allows her to focus on the positive sides of their family and their relationship. “Being a coach’s wife, I’ve learned to always be positive and never criticize,” Toni says. “I always try to pull out the best thing I can find about him and the team and highlight that because so many people criticize coaches. “I love being a coach’s wife,” she says. “We have such an opportunity to be involved in these boys’ lives at such a pivotal time. John gives good advice to his athletes. Some have come back after they’ve had families of their own, and it’s so great to hear what a good influence John was on their life, not as a coach, but ethically and morally.”

Toni Smith says she and her husband, John Smith, wrestling coach, have developed a parental mentality toward the student-athletes on the team. 33

Here’s a holiday hint give the gift of membership. T he gift of an OSU Alumni Association membership is the best way to keep your OSU loved ones connected with their home for all things orange. The Association proudly supports the academic excellence and traditions of OSU, its alumni, and friends worldwide by keeping them informed about and engaged in the daily life of the State’s University.

Buying a membership is quick and easy - just log onto the OSU Alumni Association Website at www.orangeconnection.org... it’s a gift any OSU fan will appreciate.

Grad Revolutionizes DVD Industry

went from decorating wedding cakes in Van Buren, Ark., to changing the face of the DVD industry in Hollywood. Braun, a 1986 graphic design graduate, liked lettering signs in the local bakery so much she enrolled in OSU-Okmulgee’s visual communications program in the mid-1980s. An instructor motivated her to be an early user of the Mac computer, and later, when she moved to Hollywood, she used her design skills to create music CD graphics for high-profile entertainers. MGM/United Artists asked her to set up an in-house art department, where she and her team produced promotional materials for more than 5,000 movies. When DVDs came on the scene, Braun revolutionized the industry by creating exciting, user-friendly interfaces and menus that reflected the emotion and intensity of the films — James Bond DVDs being some of the most interactive and compelling. After Sony bought out MGM/United Artists, Braun relocated to Missouri where she now teaches at the Kansas City Art Institute. “Since I was fortunate to have success early in my career,” Braun says, “I want to help young artists unlock their creative potential as I did.” Rex Daugherty

“I want to help young artists unlock their creative potential as I did.” — Sharon Braun

winter 2006

Defining Diversity C

photos/ phil shockley

Winter 2006

ornell Thomas knows defining “diversity” is a complex process. Often, people’s definitions of the word are, well, diverse, and sometimes they’re quite interesting. So when OSU System CEO and President David Schmidly hired him as vice president of the Office of Institutional Diversity in July 2005, Thomas expected to help broaden perspectives and perhaps break down some of the OSU community’s negative thoughts about diversity. “I felt there was a need to help everyone understand the positive impacts of diversity,” Thomas says. “Diversity is about understanding differences — in economic status, ethnicity, gender, religion and sexual orientation. It’s not white malebashing like many may think.” Nor is diversity a lesson in political correctness. Thomas says his office’s goal is simply to create an environment where all students and faculty members can feel comfortable interacting and sharing their thoughts, ideas and opinions with others. “We’re hoping to broaden perspectives about diversity with the ultimate goal of making sure all of our students are better prepared to live and work successfully in a more inclusively diverse society,” Thomas says. “We want our students to know that different perspectives offer opportunities for growth.”

Cornell Thomas

Thomas, who came to OSU after working for 15 years at Texas Christian University in several positions, including special assistant to the chancellor for diversity, says this means helping all OSU campuses become more diverse in thought, skin color and in many other aspects of diversity. Part of that means learning to shift from merely tolerating differences to actively embracing inclusion, which includes taking small steps like examining commonly-used phrases with negative connotations, such as “handicapped” or “the weaker sex.” Thomas says being conscious of such “filters” through which we view life is taking the first step toward valuing the diverse perspectives in this world, and doing that doesn’t always require change — it only requires becoming aware of how we think, feel and act. Although becoming more diverse is a continuing and often individual process, the university already has made several strides this year, adding 25 minority faculty members. OSU also saw a 6 percent increase in Asian-American students and a nearly 5 percent increase in African-American students this fall. Minority students, including international students, now make up 31 percent

of the student body. However, Thomas says there’s still room for improvement. “We are talking about more than numbers,” he says. “We are talking about giving our students an advantage over others who are not being prepared to enter a much different workforce. We are talking about honoring our university’s mission and its promise to all of our students.” Thomas hopes to continue recruiting more students of color, as well as implement diversity curriculum and aspects of diversity into more existing class offerings. He also would like to see programs promoting inclusion in all student organizations, including ones traditionally based on race or sexual orientation. To better understand what its needs to do, however, Thomas says OSU must take inventory of its strengths and weaknesses regarding diversity. That’s why he helped implement the OSU system-wide self study titled “Include Every Voice,” developed by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. By scheduling opportunities for every full-time employee of the OSU system to voice opinions about the current activities taking place in support of diversity as well as provide recommendations for improving efforts, Thomas hopes to create a made-to-fit system-wide diversity plan that will benefit both students and faculty. The study recently was placed on the Office of Institutional Diversity’s website, http://fp.okstate. edu/vpdiversity. Results of the information sessions will be incorporated into a selfstudy report in January that will be provided to a team representing members of the AASCU/NASULGC

diversity task force and chief diversity officers from universities across the country. In late February, the team will review the report, visit all OSU campuses and recommend actions to strengthen diversity in the OSU system. Thomas believes many of the recommendations presented in the self study will be implemented immediately. “We have outstanding administrators who will take these suggestions and turn them into action steps. Many of the ideas will begin to take shape even before the team arrives on our campuses.” He says his office has been pleased with the diversity input it has already received and invites all members of the OSU community to share their thoughts on the topic. “It is important to the health and future of OSU that everyone engages in this process because the answers to our challenges are here among us, and this process will provide a pathway for them to emerge,” Thomas says. “I believe in inclusion. I want to practice inclusion. It is important to know where we are in order to better direct where we must go.” Morgan Pratt

Frank Lucas

B. Curtis Hamm

Malinda Berry Fischer

Distinguished Alumni Awards

Malinda Berry Fischer

B. Curtis Hamm

Frank Lucas

graduated from OSU in 1960 with a bachelor of science in secondary education, English concentration. Currently, Fischer is president of Marietta Royalty Company and chairman of Thomas N. Berry & Company. Fischer lived in Rochester, N.Y., for 30 years, and worked as an organizational management and development consultant. The first woman to serve on Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A./Rochester Division board of directors, she participated on more than 25 boards. Fischer has been recognized for her leadership by a number of organizations. Since returning to Stillwater, Okla., Fischer has served as interim president and CEO and chairman of the OSU Foundation and currently serves on the boards of Heritage Trust Company, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and Oklahoma Academy Communities Foundation of Oklahoma. She established the Wise-Diggs-Berry Endowed Arts Faculty Award, recognizing teaching excellence in the arts at OSU.

graduated from OSU in 1955 with a bachelor of science in business administration and in 1962 with a masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of business administration. Hamm is professor emeritus of OSU Spears School of Business and lives in Roswell, Ga. He serves as a consultant to businesses and universities on strategic planning and developed MBA programs in China, Jordan, the Czech Republic and Russia. Hamm served as an officer in the U.S. Army and later worked for IBM. He also taught at the University of Jordan, the Peoples Republic of China and for the Semester at Sea program. Hamm has received several teaching awards. He was also recently selected as a Senior Fellow at the University of Missouri. His former OSU students fully endowed a $250,000 scholarship in his name upon his retirement. Hamm is active on the Jordan Journal of Business editorial board and the Institute of Christian Resources board of directors. He currently conducts research on spirituality in the workplace and supports the Spears School of Business.

graduated from OSU in 1982 with a bachelor of science in agricultural economics. Lucas is currently serving his sixth term as a member of Congress, representing Oklahomaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Third Congressional District. While he spends his weekdays in Washington, he spends his weekends operating a family farm and cattle ranch in Cheyenne, Okla. He continues to support OSU by working to improve college affordability and actively recruiting OSU students for internship and staff positions in both his Washington, D.C., and Oklahoma offices. These positions are held predominately by OSU graduates. Prior to his service in the U.S. Congress, Lucas served for five and a half years in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives. He has received numerous awards from agriculture groups for his support of the industry while in Congress. Lucas was also honored with the 2001 Congressional Conservation Champion award for his sponsorship of the watershed rehabilitation bill.

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Barry L. Pollard

matthew w. mungle

James H. Means

The OSU Alumni Association recognizes individuals each year with the prestigious Distinguished Alumni Award. The award is presented to OSU alumni who have distinguished themselves through personal and professional achievements and received recognition for service to their communities.

James H. Means

Matthew W. Mungle

Barry L. Pollard

was one of the first African-Americans awarded a doctoral degree from OSU with an Ed.D. in mathematics in 1958. Means continued to grow his reputation as a respected educator and administrator who, with his wife, Bertha, made significant contributions to Austin, Texas. Now 96 and in retirement, he is chairman of the board of Austin Cab Company. Means dedicated more than 40 years to the students of Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, where he served as professor of mathematics, head of the physical sciences department, coach and athletics director. He was appointed to the task force of the Institute for Services to Education helping to develop curriculum materials and teaching strategies for college students. Means takes his greatest pride in the accomplishments of the students he mentored. Means has been honored for service by several organizations including academic, athletic, political and community service organizations. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and a charter member of the prestigious Austin Chapter Gamma Gamma Boule, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.

followed his father’s advice to attend OSU although his sights were set on Hollywood. From 1975 to 1977, he studied theater arts at OSU, working with props and make-up for various productions. Afterward, Mungle was accepted into Joe Blasco’s Make-up Center, the premier academy for film and television’s elite make-up artists. He stayed on-staff at Blasco’s until his own work was successful. He is currently vice president of W.M. Creations Inc. Mungle’s career took off with the movie Edward Scissorhands in 1990. This was followed by many awards, including an Oscar for Bram Stoker’s Dracula in 1992 and four Emmy awards. With more than 100 film and television projects to his credit, Mungle has earned recognition as one of the industry’s top masters of illusion. He also works in the commercial and stage industries. Mungle stays busy balancing his film and TV projects but still finds time to conduct seminars on advanced prosthetics and appear on TV shows for The Discovery Channel and CNN. He also serves on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Committee.

graduated from OSU in 1973 with a bachelor of science in biochemistry. Dr. Pollard currently practices neurosurgery in Enid, Okla., at his shared private practice, the Neurological Surgery Association Inc. Pollard grew up with a farming and ranching background. He operates a registered angus ranch and an extensive farming operation. He also owns several John Deere dealerships. Pollard is a longtime supporter of the OSU agricultural and beef departments. He frequently invites the OSU livestock judging teams to visit his farm in preparation for judging events. Since college, he has been recognized by the American Angus Association and with the Future Farmers of America Honorary State Farmer Degree. He is also certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. Pollard served as an OSU homecoming judge in 2005. He currently serves as a member of the OSU Foundation board of governors and is a trustee of the OSU Foundation.

Illustration / Mark Pennie

R e ality

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Stillwater and OSU

student employees, accounting for 14 percent of all jobs in the Stillwater area. However, with an average salary of more than $54,000 per job, university employees account for 33 percent of the Stillwater area payroll, resulting in a $1 billion boost to the economy. The study also found that historically OSU spent around $34 million each year on construction. However, $1.2 billion, with the new construcOSU’s total tion projects on campus, annual boost to the university is generating even more new jobs the Stillwater and a greater economic and renovation projects impact. Over the next economy the number is expected to five years, the averincrease by $220 million age amount spent will annually over the next six years. nearly triple to $97 million annually The study was sponsored by the on construction and renovations. These Stillwater Foundation for Progress, new projects include classroom facilities, part of the Stillwater research space, student housing and parkChamber of Commerce, ing structures. in conjunction with OSU brings Another sizeable project is the OSU. OSU athletic expansion, which was 670,000 “The study is assessed separately as part of the study. visitors annually further evidence that Construction of new athletic facilities is and the city estimated to take six to seven years and to the Stillwater OSU of Stillwater form a have an economic impact of $83 million. powerful economic area Based on data from the Bureau of partnership,” says Labor Statistics, the research company OSU System CEO and found that on-campus students spend President David Schmidly. “OSU and $4,300 in the local economy each Stillwater are invaluable to each other, year, while off-campus students spend and it is imperative we work together $10,200. On-campus students’ numbers to create better opportunities for the do not reflect housing costs and some citizens of Stillwater and improve the food costs because they are placed in the university’s standing on a national and university economics. The study also international level.” found that the university hosts 670,000 The study focused on OSU’s visitors each year for sports, academic economic impact on Stillwater and and cultural activities as well as students’ Payne County. The impact is broken families. These visitors have a large down into university operations impact on the Stillwater economy, resultand employee spending, new facility ing in a direct impact of $47 million in construction, student spending on retail or more than a century, individual spending and a total impact of progress for OSU or the city of Stillwater and services, and visitor spending related $61 million in economic activity. to university events. The total economic has meant success for both community output of the university — $1.2 billion partners. That joint prosperity will That’s Not All! annually — supports 14,100 jobs in the get a huge boost as OSU launches its A report released in October reveals the Stillwater area. University operations historic campus expansion over the next total economic impact of the OSU System account for 66 percent of the impact, several years. is nearly $2 billion annually for the state while student spending is 26 percent, An independent research study of Oklahoma, which equals $13 for every university construction is 6 percent and completed by Angelou Economics dollar invested. To learn more about visitor spending is 3 percent. found that OSU has a total impact of the OSU System’s impact statewide, visit OSU employs 4,700 full-time $1.2 billion annually in the Stillwater http://magazine.okstate.edu employees and 5,400 part-time and economy, and with current expansion

A Strong Economic Partnership

Annual Traditions Fund Annual Traditions Fund

The Alumni Association acknowledges the following members of the Traditions Fund whose generous support helps the association achieve excellence in programming and fulďŹ ll its mission of service to alumni and Oklahoma State University. Marc Aarons Warren Abbey Jerry and Judy Alexander Kevin and Stacy Alexander John and Nancy Allford* Bill and Karen Anderson* Michael Andrist Calvin and Linda Anthony* Chris and Joan Armstrong* Richard and Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Lynn Armstrong William and Ann Atherton* John and Tara Awezec* Isabel Baker* Jasper Baker Belva Barber James and Mary Barnes* Doris Barrett Randall Bates Brian and Kathryn Beard Barry and Lois Bickle* Walter Bigger Delbert and Billie Black* Curtis Blankenship Linda Blohm Ray and Linda Booker* Kevin and Leigh Bowler Gregg and Kelly Bradshaw Russal Brawley Chris and Margaret Brown John and Judy Brown Ronald Bussert Charles and Kathleen Calhan Campbell Brothers Enterprises John and Eunice Campbell Charles and Jo Cargill Tom Carson Patricia and Kent Chapin George Charlson Jerrell and Peggy Chesney CS and Boksoo Cho* Jerry and Donna Clack* Reginald Collins Samuel III and Rita Combs* Paul and Tabitha Cornell* Alexander Croci Stephen and Donna Cropper* Laura Crump Clark Cummins* Art Custer Robin Daily Charles Dambach Kent and Dorothyan Davis* Nancy Davis Charles De Blaker Derby Rents and Sells Roy and Virginia Dick Romeo DiLibero Chad Dimmick Kenneth Dixon Frederick and Janet Drummond* Leslie and Carol Drummond Gwen and Blaine Easter Holly Easterling John Eaton

Donald England Gordon Eubanks Darrel Fales Harley Farmer Kenneth and Clara Feland Tom Fields Cray Foley* Joel Forhan Leonard Foster Sondra and John Franzmann Richard Frisbie Herbert Garrison* William Garton* Ryan and Kristen Gehrig Gregory Geiser Randy Gilbert Charles Gilmore Deena Girdner Ike and Marybeth Glass* Debra Golden Rick and Rodette Green* Allen Greer Kenneth and Nancy Greer Steven and Jennifer Grigsby Paul Grimes Wade Grotts James Groves* Bryan and Janet Hall Kent Hardaway Anthony and Linda Harkleroad Greg and Kristen Hart* George Hauck Mary Hazeldine Robert and Brandi Henderson Heritage Press Dave and Jo Hessel* Autry and Geri Hill Michael Hogan James Holland Steven Holley Horizon Interprises of the South Bill and Twylah Horne* Rex and Charlotte Horning* Nancy and Asa Howard Randal and Linda Howser Bryan and Peggy Hughes* Hunt Patton and Brazeal Inc Robin Irving Arthur and Susan Jacques* Raymond James Brett and Amy Jameson* John and Cathy Jameson* JBC Ranch Ltd William and Camille Johnston Teresa Kastens

Robert and Sharon Keating Sean Kelley Jerry and Julie Kiefer Kiowa River Ranch Charles Kirkpatrick James and Ruth Kittrell Myron Ledbetter Chuck and Johnna Leider* Leonard Foster Betty D Lewis Neil and Chris Loftis* William and Penny Long Steven Mackey Steven Magnino Ed and Mary Malzahn* Pete and Louise Marianos Mark Kretchmar Trenching Greg Massey* Elizabeth and Nicholas Mavris Richard McDonald James and Carolyn McGhay Monica McGraw John and Hattie McLaughlin* Frank and Nadine McPherson* Brent Meadows Lew Meibergen Jack and Jane Middleton CD and Jean Mihura* Dixie Miller Larry and Sandy Mocha* John Moore Stan and Linda Moore John and Rema Moren P Morris Mountain View Red Deer Michael and Susie Murray Cousy Nash Tom and Barbara Naugle* Mike and Susan Newberry Carroll and Elizabeth Newman Shawn and Tracey Nichols Connie and Rodney Orrell Mary Overton Ramona and Homer Paul* Jerry and Jeanne Perkins Linda Petot John and Kathy Pixley Robert Poehling William and Mary Poehling Frederick Points Donna Porter William Pratt Dan and Helen Quigley Grover and Virginia Rains Lee Redick

Edward Reed Robert and Cecelia Reynolds Burl Richardson Robert Richey Betty Roberts Joe and Katheryn Robinson Dennis and Leilani Roesler Charles Rohla and Andrea Bryant* Christopher and Mary Romolo Arthur and Lyla Rousseau George and Fern Rowley* Randy Rush David Sanders Sandy Sanford Karl Sauer Lewis Schafers Christopher and Heather Schroeder Lois Schultz John and Jean Schwabe Brian Scott Brian Seaton Gwen Shaw* Randall and Andrea Shelton Bob and Ginny Sherrer* Sinclair Short Adam and Kae Smith* John Smith Shawn Smith* Sherman and Eloise Smith Woody and Renee Smith Gerald and Mona Snyder* John and Rebecca Soebbing Robert Springman Alan and Sharon Voskuhl Staab Stillwater National Bank* Wayne Studebaker LM and Peggy Sullivan* Kyle and Sara Sweet Russ and Julie Teubner* Howard Thill Patricia Thill Thomas Acid and Tool Service Gregory and Dixie Thomas John and Louise Thompson Tippens Angus Ranch* George Tipton Tom Tracy Wally Trepp* John Truitt TVT Company Ron and Cindy Ward* BJ Webb Judy Weinkauf Marlon Wells Todd and Anne Weyler Douglas and Barbara White Kirk Whitman Byron and Elsie Whitmarsh Jerry and Rae Winchester* WM Bryan Oil Properties Rick Wolfenbarger Scott Woltemath Patrick Wyers Kent and Cynthia Yoesting

ThThank ank You You

* Traditions Society Member $1,000 gift and above

e l e v a t e

dreams

Some reach for the clouds ... some for the moon ... and still others, for the stars. We are reaching for the technologies and processes that can fuel the hopes and dreams of people around the globe. We are explorers, scientists, technicians, marketers, accountants and a host of other ordinary people with a basket full of extraordinary dreams.

conocophillips.com

America’s Greatest Homecoming Celebration is. . .

forever

ORANGE 2006 The Sea of Orange Parade is part of what distinguishes OSU’s homecoming as America’s greatest. This year’s recordbreaking parade featured 140 entries traveling the two-mile route along Main Street at an average speed of 3 to 6 mph. Thousands of orange-clad fans, some of whom arrived more than an hour early to claim the best seats, lined the curbs for the hour-and-a-half spectacle. To view more photos from homecoming 2006, visit

www.orangeconnection.org

photo/phil shockley

winter 2006

Students and community members showed their homecoming spirit by painting Hester Street with orange and black words of encouragement for the football team. The local Loweâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home improvement store donated the paint and more than 60 paint brushes for the event.

The most magical place during homecoming is Theta Pond. Volunteers began decorating with 1,800 orange lights early Thursday morning to create the glowing effect. 50

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photo/erika contreras

Harvest Carnival is an old-fashioned childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s carnival with booths and games created by OSU student organizations. Student groups donate canned goods as their registration fee, and community members exchange canned goods for carnival tickets. This year the event generated more than 10,000 cans for the Harvest II food drive.

The tradition of house decorations began more than 80 years ago with sororities decorating their doorways. Today, 11 pairs of sororities and fraternities work together to build spectacular house decorations for walkaround. One group transformed 500 pounds of glue, 2,720 square feet of chicken wire and 1,144 pounds of pomp into a dazzling display.

The OSU football team prepares for the big game all week. On Friday, the team enjoys walkaround before ending the night at OSU’s Atherton Hotel. On Saturday, the team takes the “walk” from the Atherton to the stadium before kickoff.

Homecoming serves as a backdrop for generations of OSU family and friends to reunite in Stillwater. They can enjoy each other’s company while taking in walkaround, the parade and the atmosphere overall. 51

Call to request a Meeting and Event Plannersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Guide.

Walt Garrison, a “Cowboy’s Cowboy” in every sense, played fullback at OSU from 1962 to 1965 before he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. During his time at OSU, he rushed for seven 100-yard games and is currently 12th on the OSU career-rushing list. As a Dallas Cowboy from 1966 to 1974, he was a member of the 1971 Super Bowl champion team B Y K a t h r y n B o l a y P h o t o g r a p h y by P h i l S h o c k l e y

and named to the Pro-Bowl team in 1973. However, the man who made a career out of football almost did not make it to college at all, much less the football team.

he story of Walt Garrison’s acceptance to Oklahoma State is an interesting one that not many people know. “I wasn’t a good football player in high school,” says Garrison, who grew up in a small town outside Dallas. “I worked at the American Nut Company that made commodity peanut butter for welfare and service men — gallon cans of peanut butter.” (Continues on page 56)

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Garrison worked the midnight weekend shift for the company and was well-liked by the supervisor and owner. “The owner told my parents I needed to go to school. Obviously they couldn’t afford to send me, so the owner called his brother in New Mexico, who was a political official, to get me a scholarship to New Mexico State,” Garrison says. Because New Mexico State was on probation, Garrison could get into the university, but there would be no scholarships. However, the supervisor’s brother knew the governor of Oklahoma, and with a few strings pulled, OSU was soon recruiting a boy from Lewisville, Texas, in need of a college scholarship. “When they came to recruit me, they weren’t really recruiting,” Garrison says. “I could have had one leg and not been able to walk. They were just giving me the scholarship.” Garrison says the transition from Lewisville to Stillwater was easy. “I enjoyed the remoteness of Stillwater,” Garrison says. “I guess that’s a bad word, but I liked where Stillwater was located. It wasn’t close to any really big towns. Oklahoma City and Tulsa were the closest big towns. It made me feel like I was going back home almost.” Lewisville’s small-town atmosphere allowed Garrison to enjoy rural life to its fullest, including participating in rodeo and numerous school sports. “Everybody played sports in high school, and we played all the sports because we didn’t have that many guys. So we played football, basketball and baseball, and then ran track,” Garrison says. “Everybody did that.”

arrison’s football career began in high school playing as a linebacker for the Lewisville Farmers. “My freshman year at OSU, I played linebacker and they changed me over to fullback my sophomore year,” Garrison says. “It kind of hurt my feelings because I thought I

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was a pretty dang good linebacker.” As an alumnus of OSU athletics, Garrison is proud of the changes occurring on OSU’s campus. “I think it’s great with the suites and all that. And now with the stadium, OSU football is coming into the Big 12 as one of the players,” he says. Garrison says he bleeds orange through and through when it comes to football or any other part of the university.

“The bad thing is a lot of people kid me about Oklahoma State when we lose, especially to OU; and I put up with it, but I don’t like it,” Garrison says. “I think Mike Gundy’s doing a hell of a job. He played here, which I think is great because as an alum he has a feel for the team.” Not only did Garrison excel on the field, he also excelled in the classroom. As a veterinary medicine major, he enjoyed animal science, specifically

animal breeding classes and pairing two animals together to predict the offspring’s genetic make-up. “If I had known I would end up working in marketing and promotions with the tobacco company, I would have taken different classes,” Garrison says. “I got an A in advanced genetics and in chemistry.” Garrison also was a member of the rodeo team at Oklahoma State, but he began rodeoing in high school.

“Actually my first love was rodeo, but there’s not enough money to make a living doing that,” Garrison says. “I liked the people and the atmosphere of the rodeo.” Recently, Garrison returned to OSU to take part in the OSU Rodeo Club’s 60th anniversary. “It was good to see a lot of the guys I rodeoed with and some who were there after me,” Garrison says. “Anything we as athletic alumni can do, we do. I

donate to the rodeo team because it doesn’t get as much support from the college.” Garrison says OSU’s outstanding running game and positive coaching led to his success in the National Football League draft. “I went to OSU to get an education,” Garrison says. “I never thought about playing football professionally. OSU ran the ball a lot, thank goodness, so I (Continues on page 58)

Garrison says he bleeds orange through and through when it comes to football or any other part of the university. 57

got to carry the ball a lot. If I had been at say, Tulsa — at the time they had a passing game — I probably wouldn’t have been drafted because I wouldn’t have done anything but thrown up blocks.” Even after the draft, Garrison still wasn’t sure he could make it in the NFL. “When I got drafted my senior year, I didn’t really think I would make it, but I decided I needed to try, otherwise I would regret it,” Garrison says. “I figured I wouldn’t make it and would be re-enrolled at OSU in three months.”

Super Bowl games and was part of the winning team against Miami in the second game. “Playing in and then winning the Super Bowl is any NFL player’s greatest moment,” Garrison says. The NFL has changed a great deal since Garrison’s final game with the Dallas Cowboys; however, he says the fundamentals are still the same. “Players are bigger and faster, but it’s still blocking and tackling,” Garrison says. “People say they pass a lot more, but if you have a good runner like LaDaninan Tomlinson, you’re going to

But Garrison was successful in the NFL, along with several other OSU alumni in the league at the time, including Charlie Harper with the New York Giants, John Ward with the Minnesota Vikings and Charlie Durkee with the New Orleans Saints. Also, Rusty Martin of Checotah, Okla., who played in Canada, had been Garrison’s roommate for three years and rode with Garrison on the OSU rodeo team. Garrison experienced many rewarding times during his NFL tenure but says his Super Bowl debuts are the most memorable. He played in two

run the ball. If you have a good passer like Peyton Manning, you’re going to pass the ball.” Today’s NFL may not differ in the game, but it does differ in the management and attitudes of the players compared to those of the past, he says. “There’s a lot more money and a lot more hot-dogging today,” Garrison says. “Guys jumping up and down after they make a tackle or a play — you don’t celebrate doing your job well. People ask me if I could still play today. I say, ‘No, ’cause I don’t know how to dance.’” Because of his success on the field, Garrison was approached to serve as a

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spokesperson for several companies. “I went to work for a tobacco company my last three years with the Dallas Cowboys,” Garrison says. “Once I retired from football, I went to work for them for another 20 years or so.”

n his free time, Garrison enjoys roping and whittling as well as participating in and hosting a variety of charity functions benefiting a number of organizations, including the American Diabetes Association, the Justin Cowboys Crisis Fund and the Ronald McDonald House. Two charities that Garrison works closely with, the College Rodeo scholarship fund and the Wendy Ryon Memorial Scholarship, benefit rodeo participants and provide scholarship funding. “I host a roping event at my home for the College Rodeo scholarship fund,” Garrison says. “It’s an annual event that we’ve been doing for 24 years, and we give out 11 scholarships. I enjoy helping somebody who can’t afford an education get one because that was something I needed, too.” Garrison has two sons, Marty and Ben, who attended Colorado State University and North Texas, respectively. “Kids are the greatest thing when you get older, and now the greatest thing is grandkids. You hope you raised them right and that they are good kids. Of course, they aren’t kids anymore, but they’ll always be my little boys. I guess everybody says that, but it’s true.” Although none of Garrison’s family members have followed in his footsteps by attending OSU, he is one of the university’s biggest supporters. “People always ask why I went to OSU. When you only have one scholarship, you don’t have a choice,” Garrison says. “But I don’t regret it. I am a supporter of OSU and an ambassador for the university. Everything I have is because of my time at OSU.”

â&#x20AC;&#x153;I am a supporter for OSU and an ambassador for the university. Everything I have is because of my time at OSU.â&#x20AC;?

Q: How many of these OSU trivia questions can you answer?

A: Answers can be found on the following page.

OSU Trivia Questions

Winter 2006

The Tiger

Old Central

Four, from June to September. President James B. Eskridge came to OAMC in 1921 and was removed from office in June 1923. The position was filled by George Wilson for eight weeks until Richard Tyler stepped in as interim president. President Bradford Knapp came to campus in September 1923 and served until 1928. A barn between present-day Old Central, the oldest surviving building on campus, and the William S. Spears School of Business. It stored hay and a few of the school’s first horses. From 1944 to 1946. The OAMC football team was undefeated for two straight seasons and went to the Cotton Bowl and Sugar Bowl championships in ’45 and ’46. Also in ’45, the OAMC basketball team won the NCAA championship. The wrestling team secured its 14th NCAA crown in ’46.

Winter 2006

OSU Trivia Answers

A 1,380-pound steer. Royal Jupiter was born in the OAMC animal husbandry department and named “Grand Champion Shorthorn Steer” at the 1946 Chicago International Competition. He toured the country for several months after his win before being donated to a charity. Royal Jupiter was featured in the Jan. 27, 1947, issue of LIFE magazine. Morrill Hall. The building is the second-oldest surviving building on campus. It was completed in 1906 and became OAMC’s principal building. A fire destroyed the interior of Morrill Hall in 1914, but the outside structure survived. The interior was later renovated.

The barn

Morrill Hall

No. Henry G. Bennett, OAMC president from 1928 to 1951, developed a 25-year campus master plan that included new buildings, renovations, removal of old buildings and a standardized architectural style called “modified Georgian.” Maude Spear, in 1915. Spear also was the only female member of the Senior Engineering Club. Women in engineering today can choose to live in “Maude’s Quad” in Allen Hall. The second auditorium build on campus, connected to the library. The playhouse was built after OAMC outgrew its first auditorium, still located on the second floor of Old Central.

The tiger. The university kept its tiger-stripe orange and black colors after switching mascots to Pistol Pete, modeled after gunman Frank Eaton, in 1923. A 12-week-old baby was brought to OAMC in September 1921 as the first of three infants adopted by the School of Home Economics. Baby David was orphaned when he was only 10 days old and was put under the rotating care of home economics students in the program’s Home Builders College to provide the students practical home experience. David was returned to a children’s home in Oklahoma City just before Christmas and was later adopted. Two more babies, Baby David II and III, were brought to the OAMC campus in 1922, but the project moved off campus the following year.

Questions and answers compiled by Morgan Pratt.

Wayne Allen, Full-Service Commitment

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wayne Allen values and expects the highest level of excellence from each commitment he makes ...â&#x20AC;?

photo/andy maxey

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al u m n i P RO F I L E

OSU had no idea how significant Wayne Allen’s contributions to OSU and his profession would be when the 18-year-old enrolled as a freshman in 1955. The Stillwater high school senior didn’t have to look far while exploring engineering options at the college level. After meeting with dean Edward R. Stapley, Allen settled on OSU’s mechanical engineering program, and the rest is history. “Since he was a student, Wayne Allen has been making an impact on Oklahoma State University,” says OSU System CEO and President David Schmidly. “We congratulate him on all he has accomplished, and the entire OSU family thanks him for continuing to improve scholarship and academics at his alma mater.” During Allen’s distinguished career with Phillips Petroleum Company, including serving as chairman and CEO, he positioned himself as a champion of higher education. His commitment resulted in a number of successful student programs and unprecedented corporate support for OSU. The Phillips Petroleum Engineering Scholars initiative Allen established at OSU has became a national model of a corporate/academic partnership aimed at accelerating both the intellectual and professional development of young people pursuing careers in engineering. And the ConocoPhillips SPIRIT Scholars Program, built on the success of the Phillips Petroleum Engineering Scholars program, has expanded to benefit business students and multicultural initiatives.

“Wayne Allen values and expects the highest level of excellence from each commitment he makes,” says engineering dean Karl Reid, “and that expectation has led to quality experiences for our best students.” Allen also started the W.W. Allen Engineering Scholars program to provide professional mentoring and study abroad experiences for engineering students. “I believe the best way to serve OSU is by funding programs that enrich the entire scholar experience,” he says. Allen has served the university in numerous ways. His diligence as leader of OSU’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign, “Bringing Dreams to Life,” resulted in more than $260 million for OSU programs.

Wayen Allen (back center) joins the 2005 W.W. Allen Scholars and Dean Karl Reid (far left) for a lunch at the Atherton Hotel. Allen meets with his scholars on an annual basis to offer counsel on career aspirations and answer questions regarding entry into the corporate world.

He also has served on the OSU Foundation’s board of governors and board of trustees and as chairman of the CEAT Associates. In 1992, he was inducted into the CEAT Hall of Fame and in 1993 into the OSU Alumni Association Hall of Fame. In 1996 OSU presented him with its highest humanitarian award, the Henry G. Bennett Award. (Continued on next page) Wayne Allen was active in a number of engineering-related clubs while on campus, including the 1958 Petroleum Club.

Wayne Allen’s philosophy for success In 1992 he was appointed as presi“I saw great value with the social dent and chief operating officer, and in 1994 he became chairman and CEO of and peer support I Phillips until his retirement in 1999. received through Allen says traveling the world the Boys and Girls with Phillips reinforced his belief that Club of America,” “education gives America its competitive says Allen, who edge.” It also helped him prioritize his has served on the commitment to future generations of organization’s OSU students. national board of “Society is turning out fewer engigovernors. “I truly neers each year as fewer students decide believe it helped Be prepared – technically and professionally. build my character.” to major in science-related courses,” Be highly focused on the job at hand. Don’t worry Allen says. “I believe our programs will After graduabout who gets the credit. Stay Optimistic. And encourage students to consider engiating from OSU when you detect a problem, seek a solution. neering as a career and might even open a with a bachelor’s door that was previously closed to higher in mechanical education.” engineering and a master’s in indus“Wayne Allen has been a true trial engineering and management, Allen difference-maker through his served in the U.S. Army and then joined unmatched commitment to the College Phillips in 1961. “Since he was a of Engineering, Architecture and He held many positions at Phillips Technology and his passion for helping before moving to the corporate headstudent, Wayne Allen students,” Reid says. quarters in 1964 to work with drilling Since his retirement, Allen, and and production operations. He spent has been making an wife, Judith (Hillier), a 1959 humaniseveral years in both Europe and Africa ties graduate, have continued to focus for Phillips and then returned to impact on Oklahoma their energy on education and economic Bartlesville in 1988 as vice president of development. international exploration and developState University.” Last year they established the W.W. ment. Soon he became senior vice presiAllen Boys and Girls Club of America dent of exploration and production and a — David Schmidly Engineering Scholarship Fund to provide member of the board of directors. financial and enrichment opportunities for qualified club members pursuing an David Schmidly, left, engineering degree at OSU. joins Wayne Allen and “OSU and the College of Engineering others last January to have benefited significantly from Wayne celebrate a nearly Allen’s passion to find young people with $15 million gift to the potential to be successful in engineering School of Architecture and give them the opportunity to become from the Donald W. intellectual leaders,” Reid says. Reynolds Foundation. Allen says growing up in Fort Smith, Ark., he learned the importance of scholarship and service as a member of the Boys and Girls Club of America and enjoyed its recreational facilities. “It had the best swimming pool and basketball facilities,” he says.

Winter 2006

Signing up to be called is only a click away.

Scholarships Honor Mother’s Belief In Education

common thread connecting three OSU supporters, Ramona Paul, Debbie Bell and Gerald Roulet, is the value their mothers placed on education. All say their mothers inspired them to value the power of an education and encouraged their children to grow in knowledge and give back to society. Each established scholarships in the College of Human Environmental Sciences to honor their mothers by ensuring generations of Cowboys who rely on financial assistance will know that same power of a higher education.

Maurine Bacher

The Bachers

“Mom always told me, education is the one thing no one can take away from you.” — Debbie Bell

Maurine Bacher learned the value of education differently than most people. She was born during the Depression, and her family had little money. Once, they even took shelter in a horse stable. Because of these hardships, Bacher always worked hard to better her life. She also passed her own work ethic to her daughter as well as her philosophy on the importance of education. Bacher’s daughter, Debbie Bell, remembers growing up in a bluecollar home where both parents were busy with full and part-time jobs yet valued education above all other priorities. “Mom always told me, education is the one thing no one can take away from you,” Bell says. Bacher borrowed against stock she acquired while working at Southwestern Bell to pay her daughter’s college tuition and living expenses. And Bell was able to attend OSU and graduate in 1977 with a degree in human development and family science. Years later, when her mother celebrated the final repayment of the loan, Bell and her husband, Wayne, decided to honor her mother by establishing the Maurine and Lee Bacher Scholarship. Bell says the scholarship honors the sacrifices her mother made to ensure Bell could attend college and will help future generations of students pursue their educational dreams.

stablishing scholarships in honor of their mothers is a fitting tribute, says Dean Pat Knaub, because their generosity makes a significant difference in the lives of students. “In addition to funding scholarships for students, Gerald, Ramona and Debbie have been actively involved in the life of the college,” Knaub says. “All have shared with me the passion their mothers had for the value of education in their own lives.”

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Girdie Ware Ramona Paul’s mother, Girdie Ware, was anything but a “typical” mother of her era. At a time when society expected women to stay home and take care of children, Ware demonstrated her commitment to family and education as a faculty member in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. Paul says she grew up considering OSU a second home. “I was everybody’s child — a child of the faculty. I felt nurtured as a part of a larger family.” Paul’s memories stem from observing the countless hours and effort her mother gave to OSU. “Mom was instrumental in establishing the first marriage and gerontology courses at OSU,” Paul says. “She was also faculty at the nursery, which is now called the Child Development Lab.” Paul, a ’58 alumna of OSU’s Human Development and Family Science department, was named to the CHES Hall of Fame for her own career achievements as Oklahoma’s assistant state superintendent for education. “Women were highly valued in my household,” Paul says. “Mother wanted to ensure I could take care of myself and told me to stay strong in mind and be an educated woman.” Paul attributes her success in life to her mother and admires her courage to work outside the home despite society’s heavy influence on gender roles. Paul and her brother Robert Ware established the H.G. & Girdie Ware Endowed Scholarship for students in human development and family science. They hope future generations of students will benefit, as they have, from their mother’s influence and vision.

Girdie Ware

“Mother wanted to ensure I could take care of myself and told me to stay strong in mind and be an educated woman.” — Ramona Paul

Doreen Roulet Gerald Roulet remembers a modest yet colorful childhood growing up on his family’s farm in Custer City, Okla. “Mom wasn’t the typical farmer’s wife of her generation,” he says. In addition to regular farm chores, his mother, Doreen, also wrote short stories and studied genealogy in her spare time. “She was always doing something,” Roulet says. “If she were sitting, she had to have a book. Even into her 80s, she was taking computer classes.” As owner of GRO Inc., a furniture wholesale company, Roulet has been a guest lecturer for OSU’s interior design department and a member of its advisory board. He says he has long been impressed with the college’s growth under the leadership of its dean, Pat Knaub. “Pat Knaub has taken the College of Human Environmental Sciences to places and heights we’ve never seen before,” Roulet says. Although neither Roulet nor his mother attended OSU, he says establishing the Doreen and Paul Roulet Endowed Scholarship for OSU students in honor of his parents is a fitting tribute to their lives. “This scholarship upholds my mother’s belief in the value of education,” Roulet says. “Mom was a college graduate who valued the power of knowledge and the ability it has to improve a person’s life. I’ve taken that with me my whole life.”

Doreen Roulet

“Mom was a college graduate who valued the power of knowledge and the ability it has to improve a person’s life. I’ve taken that with me my whole life.” — Gerald Roulet 69

THE POWER OF ONE

Endowed faculty positions attract renowned faculty researchers who bring national and international recognition for quality teaching and research. Eligible for a state match once fully endowed, these positions can multiply exponentially in value to dramatically impact education and the economy. Meet four faculty members whose research has placed OSU on the cutting-edge of discovery. Meet the donors whose passion for continued education created a partnership resulting in innovation Endowed Chair — $1 million for industry and prestige for Oklahoma State. Endowed Professorship — $500,000 photo / Phil Shockley

Todd Hubbard

Clarence E. Page Endowed Chair

odd Hubbard couldn’t foresee how ejecting from a U-2 airplane during a routine training sortie would change his life forever. Hubbard, a ’74 history graduate and current associate professor of aviation and space education, has coped with post-traumatic stress disorder since his 1984 accident near California’s Beale Air Force Base. Although his broken back and jaw healed with time and Hubbard continued flying — eventually reaching 1,100 hours of U-2 flight time before retiring from the Air Force in 1995, the isolation 70

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* All fully endowed chairs and professorships are matched dollar for dollar by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

“My interest lies with making sure our pilots avoid potentially dangerous decisions. Under stress we can react and think differently,” says Hubbard, who has published numerous articles “I feel a sense and books focusing on mental health and methods for of service to predicting learning outcomes. give back to the “Our research focuses on how aviation industry to intervene and change those through my risky behaviors.” A new book that Hubbard teaching, co-edited, Aviation Mental research and Health: Psychological community Implications for Air Transportation, encourages service.” pilots to seek professional help about the emotions they are experiencing and advises and self-doubt continued for aviation management to years. recognize the human factor Hubbard realized during issues facing these pilots. his own treatment that little As holder of the Clarence research has been done in E. Page Endowed Chair in aviation psychology and Aviation Sciences, Hubbard decided to turn his pain into a passion to benefit OSU avia- also works to uphold the legacy left by Page to promote tion students and others in Oklahoma’s aerospace industhe aviation industry. try and its ability to bolster After 21 years of military the economy. service, Hubbard returned “Page promoted aviation to OSU, earned his doctorabove and beyond what was ate and now focuses on the expected and continuously complexities of cockpit behavior and the roles mental raised the bar,” Hubbard says. Rex Madeira, an accomhealth and stress play in plished aviation mechanic decision-making.

and longtime friend of Page, became president of the Foundation following Page’s death in 1989. He established the Clarence E. Page Endowed Chair in Aviation Sciences in 1991 to ensure research would continually benefit Oklahoma institutions in the advancement of aviation. The decision to give back was no surprise to those who knew him best. Madeira had an enduring commitment to the industry and a strong interest in its continued development. “He touched so many lives, professionally and as a leader in his community,” says Madeira’s wife, Wilma. “We’re just pleased his work and generosity can be an inspiration and have an impact on aviation today.” Hubbard says it is an honor to serve as the Clarence E. Page chair. “My goal is to give back to the aviation community in the same profound manner as Mr. Page and Mr. Madeira,” Hubbard says. “We share a common goal — to advance aviation education and business and to promote air transportation as a lifeline to our Oklahoma economy.”

Brett Carver

Wheat Genetics Chair in Agriculture

photo / Phil Shockley

he results of Brett Carver’s research are probably in your kitchen right now. As a Regents professor and holder of the Wheat Genetics Chair in Agriculture, Carver leads OSU’s research and production of wheat varieties. These varieties are grown by farmers around the world and consumed on nearly every continent. Carver says he didn’t know much about Oklahoma agricultural and had never traveled west of the Mississippi River until 1985 when he became a quantitative geneticist for OSU. Fast forward to 2006. “Dr. Carver is the top researcher and wheat breeder in the southern Great Plains,” says Mark Hodges, executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. “He is an excellent leader and understands the importance of producing a high-quality end result.” Wheat producers have more options when it comes to variety selection thanks to Carver and his wheat improvement team. During the last 22 years, they have produced 15 wheat varieties, a considerable accomplishment considering the average variety takes 12 years to fully develop. Since 1955, OSU has produced 24 varieties of wheat that are grown by farmers worldwide and valued for improving the overall caliber of wheat products. Carver credits much of his program’s success to a concerted team effort and a

solid investment through the wheat genetics chair. “I cannot overestimate the impact this chair has made on the value of our research,” says Carver, chair-holder since 1998. “I’ve always known I had a passion for science and agriOSU’s “Landmark” Wheat Varieties

1955 Concho 1967 Agent 1977 Payne 1983 Chisholm 1994 Custer 1997 2174 2000 Intrada 2004 Endurance 2004 Deliver 2005 OK Bullet 2006 Duster *24 varieties total produced at OSU

culture and always believed the field had the potential to impact the world,” Carver says. “I’m proud our work highlights that impact every day.” Carver’s research centers on design breeding and engineering the highest quality wheat product. “If you look at our production trends, you’ll note accelerated variety-release activity since the mid-’90s. This impact was first noticeable from proceeds of the Wheat Genetics Chair endowment in the early 1990s. This synchronous pattern is no coincidence.” The chair’s benefactors include the Oklahoma Wheat Research Foundation, the Union Equity Co-op and Okeene businessman Owen Wimberly. Funds from the chair support research, equipment and travel.

“This gift was made as a commitment by the industry because we must continue to invest in the future — and our future is in the varieties,” Hodges says. “There is nobody better suited to hold this chair than Dr. Carver, and we believe he is the future of the wheat industry from that varietal standpoint.” Carver believes the greatest impact of the chair is its longevity. “The Wheat Genetics program is one of the few in the agricultural college that has been ongoing for more than 50 years, which is a unique and critical factor in our efforts to constantly build upon the progress of yesterday,” Carver says. “This is not stop-and-go research. The endowment helps to maintain research over a period of six decades.” 71

Ricks-Rapp Professorship in Musculoskeletal Research

r. Charles MacAllister’s research laboratory isn’t a room filled with test tubes and beakers. It’s a 40-acre expanse of pasture that’s home to more than 50 research horses. OSU’s Equine Research Park is MacAllister’s laboratory. There, he studies pain management and gastrointestinal problems, specifically gastric ulcers, in horses. These two health problems are linked because common pain management drugs can cause gastrointestinal damage.

“The professorship provides a research herd. These horses are vital to our continued efforts.”

MacAllister’s 25 years of research also includes studies of viral upper-respiratory diseases such as Equine Influenza and Equine Rhinopneumonitis in the equine park’s biosafety level 2 facility, designed for study of infectious diseases. The herd MacAllister studies is unique because all the horses have navicular syndrome, a disease affecting the navicular bone and the surrounding soft tissues in the hoof. 72

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“These horses are ideal for study because they are consistently lame from day to day, so they are great for studying the pharmacodynamics of analgesic compounds, more commonly known as pain killers.” MacAllister, who was appointed to the RicksRapp Professorship in Musculoskeletal Research in 2001, says it has been a great benefit to the research. “This professorship has enabled me to maintain our herd of research horses over the years. They are vital to our continued efforts,” MacAllister says. The Ricks-Rapp endowed professorship is funded by family and friends of Ran Ricks, who loved thoroughbred race horses, and by the Robert Glenn Rapp Foundation. MacAllister says funds from the professorship also were instrumental in developing a force plate facility at OSU to measure the force exerted on the ground while a horse is moving. “When a normal horse trots down the runway at a controlled speed, it will strike the force place with 100 percent, plus or minus 5 percent, of its body weight. “If a horse is lame, it will strike the plate with a force anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of normal, depending on the severity of the lameness.” These findings allow MacAllister to introduce an analgesic compound and retest based on how the horse responds to the compound. MacAllister also uses endoscopes to examine a horse’s esophagus and stomach for gastric ulcers that might develop as a result of the analgesics or other factors.

photo / Phil Shockley

Charles MacAllister

“Before we had endoscopes long enough to reach a horse’s stomach, we really had no idea so many horses suffer from gastric ulcers.” MacAllister says he and his team were surprised that 90 percent of race horses, 50 percent of other performance horses and 50 percent of foals suffer from gastric ulcers. “With this information we focused our research efforts on determining an effective treatment. Unfortunately, many of the early drugs used to treat gastric ulcers in humans proved to be ineffective in the horse.” MacAllister’s subsequent research proved the human drug omeprazolae was effective in treating equine gastric ulcers, and now he’s trying to determine why the equine species has such a high incidence of this condition. As an educator, MacAllister encourages students to pursue careers in basic and applied biomedical research. Because of the Ricks-Rapp Professorship, a

number of studies have been conducted at the Equine Research Park and many students have participated, including National Institutes of Health Summer Research students, graduate students, a Niblack Scholar undergraduate student and residents in specialty training. “Some of these studies and the student participation would not have been possible without funding from the professorship,” he says. Dr. Michael Lorenz, dean of the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, says endowed faculty chairs and professorship are essential for recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty, like MacAllister, who are leaders in research and the classroom. “We are deeply grateful to the Rapp Foundation and the many family and friends of Ran Ricks who created this enduring legacy,” Lorenz says. “It will benefit OSU faculty and students as well as the equine industry in perpetuity.”

Jennifer Paustenbaugh

for Library Service, Paustenbaugh has dedicated her 16-year career at OSU’s Edmon Low Library to the Puterbaugh service and preservation of Professorship for the written word. Library Service Paustenbaugh’s passion to extend the life of the library’s t first glance, one collections was fulfilled in may think Jennifer Paustenbaugh endowed 2000 with the opportunity to hold the Puterbaugh profesher own professorship. sorship, one of three endowed “Some people think I wanted this position so badly I faculty positions in the library. Endowed in 1991 by the funded it myself,” she laughs. Puterbaugh Foundation As faculty holder of the in McAlester, Okla., the Puterbaugh Professorship

photo / Phil Shockley

p rofessorship is being used to build a library-wide preservation program to ensure the longevity of the printed and electronic word. Paustenbaugh along with staff across many library departments rose to the challenge of preserving the library’s 2.6 million volumes, exceeding expectations in six short years. “We are very proud of Jennifer and the legacy she’s upholding,” says Steven Taylor, Puterbaugh Foundation board chair, OSU alumnus and Oklahoma Supreme Court justice. “Our founder, J.G. Puterbaugh, believed libraries, books and reference materials are extremely important tools and education is the first step toward the solution of social and economic problems,” Taylor says. Funds from the endowment help preserve knowledge in a variety of ways, including preservation of the library’s physical collection as well as through digital preservation and, most recently, through content creation of an oral history program. “The outstanding training methods and supplies we have been able to acquire from professorship funds means that printed and digital materials acquired today will be available and usable by many generations of students and faculty,” Paustenbaugh says. “Considering the enormous public and private investment in library materials, this is a significant stewardship effort,” Paustenbaugh, co-author of the award-winning Oklahoma Women’s Almanac and chair of the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women, says creation of the oral history program has been one of the most rewarding activities of her career.

“Our interviews with Oklahoma women who lived through the Dust Bowl or who worked in the war effort as ‘Rosies’ are inspiring and will interest historians and other researchers for years to come,” she says. These accomplishments inspired the Puterbaugh Foundation to provide an additional $100,000 to the current endowment. Paustenbaugh says this continued commitment to education is a critical success factor for the library. “The flexibility and ability this professorship gives to its holders is a wonderful thing,” she says. “Projects that would have been otherwise overlooked are given the funding and time needed to make them of the highest quality to serve students and the public.” That service reflects goals valued by the Puterbaugh Foundation. “We seek ways to support the pure academic mission of the university by funding needs that, while they may have less popular appeal to contributors, have importance to the goals of a great educational institution,” Taylor says. Still, what inspired the Foundation to endow a professorship rather than a scholarship? “A scholarship helps one student, which is good. But a professorship touches every student who interacts with that professor, whether in the classroom or through the student’s research,” Taylor says. “That influence can touch hundreds of students each year, and because the professorship is endowed, it ensures an infinite number of lives will be impacted by one professor forever.”

F ac u lty p r o fil e John C. Mowen, Regents Professor of Marketing

The

MARKETING

Marketing professor John Mowen would like to thank his English composition professor at the College of William and Mary for giving him a D his first semester. “Professor Holmes got my attention,” Mowen recalls. “He became a mentor and encouraged me to achieve higher standards of writing quality than I could imagine. “He showed me that a professor can motivate people as well as teach them, which are ideas that have guided my academic career.” Mowen has certainly transcended his initial academic effort. Today he’s known as an internationally renowned researcher, Regents professor, community activist, decorated scholar, psychologist and artist. Colleagues and protégés also describe him as mentor and friend. “Dr. Mowen is the epitome of a scholar in terms of how he approaches research and the joy he receives in disseminating that information to others,” says Sterling Bone, ’06, Ph.D., business admin, now an assistant professor at Brigham Young University’s nationally ranked business school. Before graduating in 1969 with a degree in psychology, Mowen juggled studies, a job at the library and ROTC training, where he served as cadet commander during his senior year. As a Ranger-qualified regular Army officer, Mowen attained the rank of captain and received a Bronze Star before being one of the last officers to leave Vietnam in 1973. With the assistance of his wife, Maryanne, today an associate professor of accounting at OSU, Mowen applied to graduate schools from Vietnam. 74

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photo/Phil Shockley

Original digital art creations by John Mowen can be found in galleries in Arizona, Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma. Mowen, who credits his wife, Maryanne, with inspiring his creativity, brings his love of art and marketing together for students in his “Marketing of the Arts” class.

Mowen chose Arizona State’s social psychology program, but after completing his doctoral degree, his career took an unexpected turn. “There were a hundred applications for each academic position in social psychology,” he says. So when a friend suggested marketing as a career option, Mowen was intrigued. Psychology provides an important theory base for consumer marketing — and the job opportunities were more promising. “The difference in the job market in business, as compared to psychology, was like night and day,” he says. After completing post-doctoral studies at Arizona State, Mowen accepted a tenure-track position at OSU in 1978. Since that time, his scholarly focus has been on understanding the factors that influence consumer and managerial decision-making. “John is well-known as a leading researcher in the field of consumer behavior, and in particular, consumer psychology,” says Eric Harris, ’01, Ph.D., business admin. “He has excelled in numerous areas and his contributions to the field are far-reaching.” He’s published more than 60 articles in prominent journals, plus a consumer behavior textbook now in its seventh iteration, two trade books on high-stakes decision-making targeted at business professionals, a book on leadership and a book that presents a new theory of motivation and personality. Considered a expert in the area of human motivation, Mowen is known for developing the 3M Model of Motivation and Personality. The model seeks to account for how personality traits interact with situations to influence consumer feelings and behaviors. “John’s work ethic is outstanding,” says Harris, a business professor at Pittsburgh State University. “One major contribution is his work on hierarchical personality models. The work has allowed consumer researchers to address a number of issues from a fresh, fullyintegrated perspective.”

In 2000, Mowen was appointed Noble Foundation chair in marketing strategy. Established by the Noble Foundation in 1989, the endowment is intended to provide leadership among university faculty to assist Oklahoma businesses with the challenges of operating in a highly competitive business environment. “Dr. Mowen has been able to conduct long-term research projects to benefit business and industry,” says OSU alum Mary Kate Wilson, program officer for the Noble Foundation. “Lloyd Noble once said that the greatest title a person can hold is that of ‘great teacher,’ which embodies the qualities we appreciate in Dr. Mowen.” In 2002, Mowen was presented OSU’s Eminent Faculty Award for sustained contributions to scholarlycreative activity, teaching and service and for bringing honor and recognition to the university. He’s also a fellow and past president of the national Society for Consumer Psychology. Despite his professional success and recognition, Mowen says the high point in his career is the opportunity to interact with students. “I view the professoriate as a helping profession. The joy of helping students advance intellectually, whether at the undergraduate or doctoral levels, is one of my most ardent passions,” says Mowen, who has chaired or co-chaired 19 student dissertations. Mowen’s old college mentor would undoubtedly be pleased that the student he motivated to excel more than 30 years ago has come full circle to inspire future generations. And as one former student attests, Mowen is inpirational. “Dr. Mowen genuinely cares about the well-being of his students, even past graduation and into their career development stages and beyond. He has been extremely helpful to me, and I simply can’t overstate how happy I am to have him as both friend and mentor.”

A New Perspective Student and her father recall war zone’s sudden terror By most people’s standards, Jamilah AlHarake is having a bad day: her car broke down. She was up all night, and her cell phone isn’t working. To top it off, it’s raining outside. A few months ago, she might have been bothered by this turn of events, but since she and her father, Mounzer “Manny” Al-Harake, evacuated Lebanon during the Lebanese-Israeli conflict in 76

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July, “bad days” no longer carry much weight. Jamilah, a political science senior, had recently begun an internship at the Lebanese State Department in Beirut when the fighting broke out. The trip marked her third to Lebanon, where her father grew up. Manny, longtime Student Union assistant director, holds three degrees from OSU including a Ph.D. in education. The Al-Harakes were staying with family in a southern, coastal suburb of Beirut when the bombing began.

Jamilah says fighting is typical on the Israel-Lebanon border, but something didn’t feel right when she was awakened by bombs at 6 a.m. “I felt the room shake when it went off. I thought I knew what the sound was, but I didn’t want to think about it, so I just tried to go back to sleep.” Soon, Manny came in to wake his daughter and told her they should prepare to leave Lebanon in the next few days. Within two hours, however, they received word Israel was planning to bomb their suburb and they should evacuate immediately. The Al-Harakes traveled with friends to a family member’s apartment in a mountainous area to await evacuation from the country. Jamilah remembers

Jamilah and Manny Al-Harake, (center) pose with the Halal family, including OSU alumnus Ezzat Halal, far right. Five of the six grown Halal children graduated from OSU.

Jamilah Al-Harake and her father, Manny Al-Harake, waited more than two weeks to evacuate Lebanon last summer after war erupted between Israel and Lebanon. The bridge in the background was only three blocks from where the Al-Harakes were staying.

being terrified that night as she lay in bed with her baby cousin. “I just held my hands, and I prayed for about three hours,” Jamilah says. “I could hear the planes and bomb after bomb. I really lay there thinking, ‘Am I going to die?’” Looking back, Jamilah says she can’t believe they lived through the ordeal. “It’s an unusual feeling – feeling like you are going to die,” she says. “I was just lying there, looking at the ceiling, wondering if it were all going to fall down on me at any second.” The Al-Harakes and thousands of other evacuees were forced to wait more than two weeks to leave Lebanon. When boats finally arrived to pick up U.S. citizens, Jamilah and Manny stood in line for about 15 hours waiting to board.

During the nine-hour trip to Cyprus, Jamilah says the boat’s plumbing broke, and the evacuees were without water and bathrooms. After their return to the U.S., Jamilah had mixed feelings about being home. “I’m glad to be back, but there are so many things that still affect me that don’t affect people here,” she says. “It’s hard to sit in a room with people who don’t know much about what you just went through.” Jamilah, who will graduate this month, says she never realized people in the U.S. were so involved in their own affairs. When she and Manny returned from Lebanon, most people had been concerned about their safety, but Jamilah was also disturbed to find she had several friends who didn’t know anything about the war.

“I really want people in the U.S. to know about this conflict,” Jamilah says. “There are so many other people out there that need our help because we don’t have the things to worry about that they do. “I want people to hear my story because if I can just help one other person care about the conflict in the Middle East, then maybe they’ll become president one day and stop the war. I want people to be concerned with people all over the world.” With a ruined economy and thousands of homes destroyed, most of Lebanon is in rubble. Yet unbelievably, Jamilah plans to return after graduation to help with humanitarian aid and relief efforts for the millions of Lebanese affected by the conflict. “People tell me, ‘You’re crazy,’ and I say, ‘I know. I think I’m crazy, too,’” she says. “You’d think I would never want to go back, but I do. I really do think I was there because, somehow, I’m supposed to help.” Jamilah says her experience in Lebanon changed her life perspective. She lost extended family in the bombings, and she often receives text messages from friends in Lebanon telling her about other deaths. “Now, I stop and realize stuff I’m concerned about is so petty,” she says. “I have so many more good days now because every time something goes wrong, I just think, ‘It could be so much worse.’” Morgan Pratt

Supporters practice teamwork following

rainout

“Let me tell you a story about a camp that I knew A Geology Field Camp owned by OSU. It’s been a field camp here for quite a long time, First was established in Nineteen Forty-Nine.”

“I consider myself a part of the camp and OSU.” Tiny Striegel visits with campers each week to share her poetry, artwork and reflections on social change.

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he Les Huston Geology Field Camp has been an integral part of OSU’s history for more than 50 years. Geology students from OSU and as far away as UCLA and North Carolina visit the centralColorado camp each summer to study various rock types and cartography and to conduct environmental geology exercises. Jim Puckette, geology professor and field camp director, is encouraged by the growing enrollment of geology students who attend each year.

“We’re pleased to share the camp with so many other schools,” Puckette says. “I believe students benefit from the interaction with colleagues from different academic backgrounds, and they learn quickly their common interests far outweigh perceived or real differences.” But Camp Huston will need a helping hand in order to reopen by next summer because of heavy rainfall at summer’s end that caused serious damage leaving many cabins embedded in mud and washing away five cabins entirely.

Rebuilding efforts are underway, led by Puckette and the Boone Pickens School of Geology, as is a restoration campaign to raise $50,000 to cover the cost of repairs. The Geology Advisory Board members have already pledged $10,000 to the campaign. Meanwhile, Tiny Striegel, whose father originally owned the campground just outside Canon City, Colo., is assisting the clean-up efforts. Helping the camp is nothing new for Striegel, who enjoys interacting with students each summer and believes the field camp is more than just a place to learn. An enthusiastic Cowboy convert, Striegel believes the camp promotes teamwork, builds relationships and gives students lasting memories.

Striegel says. “OSU’s involvement and commitment over the years to the upkeep of the land is why we chose to donate it.” Striegel continues to share her poetry and artwork with students as well as her reflections on decades of social change. “I consider myself a part of the camp and OSU,” says Striegel, who also looks after the land during the winter. “I am deeply interested in the camp and the students. They are a part of my life.” Puckette, along with camp staff and students, considers Striegel the honorary matriarch of the camp. “She’s always willing to help any way she can,” he says. Like any matriarch, Striegel looks to the future and the

… “I am deeply interested in the camp and the students. They are a part of my life.” In fact, Striegel began writing poetry 10 years ago based on her camp memories and experiences. “I wanted this camp to be a part of history and provide history for the community so that people won’t forget,” says Striegel, who with her husband, Ernie, donated the land to OSU in 1990 and renamed the camp in honor of her father. “Ernie and I donated the land and all the improvements to Oklahoma State University with the understanding that it is to be preserved and maintained as a field camp,”

reality of starting over on many levels. “I am so pleased with the work that has already been done in order to rebuild,” Striegel says. “In the camp’s history, we’ve only closed once. I am confident with local efforts and the support of OSU, Camp Huston will be ready to host the next generation of young geologists.” For more information about the Restore Field Camp Campaign or to make a donation, contact Jana Duffy at (405) 744-4035 or jduffy@osugiving.com.

Summer Camp

Geology students nationwide come to OSU’s geology field camp each summer for hands-on experience in beautiful central Colorado. (Above) Floods destroyed cabins last year, but efforts are underway to rebuild and reopen by summer.

“Not much more to say — don’t know what is in view, But do keep it going. I’m trusting in you. It’s a beautiful place, lovely as it can be. It is well worth saving, please keep it for me.” (Excerpted from Memoirs in Rhyme by Tiny Striegel.)

Taking Care of Business

Meeting the Needs of Small Manufacturers “The NPDC has the potential to In 2006, Since opening bring thousands of new jobs in 2002, OSU’s the Oklahoma and billions of dollars to our Journal Record New Product state as small manufacturers look to presented the Development the center’s resources to solve problems NPDC with Center has and create new opportunities.” the Innovator already However, no matter how innovative of the Year garnered two its product development, a business must Award for work prestigious be equally innovative in financing and with Klutts awards for its Equipment Co. marketing, says Bill Barfield, NPDC success with co-director and emeritus professor of of Muskogee small- and OSU’s Department of Biosystems and medium-sized on the GonAgricultural Engineering. manufacturers topper, a To assist in these areas, the NPDC machine to in Oklahoma. launched the Business Analysis Program help load and and the Marketing Communications unload railroad gondola cars. Program. The programs combine In 2005, the University Economic OSU resources in communications, Development Association presented the marketing, finance and management to NPDC with its Award for Excellence help propel participating companies to in Technology Commercialization for developing the Gon-topper prototype for the next level. Through the Business and Klutts. Market Analysis Program, agricultural Sponsored by the College of economics students prepare inEngineering, Architecture and Technology, the Division of Agricultural depth reviews of the current business environment and Sciences and Natural Resources and develop business plans for the OSU Center for Innovation and participating companies. Economic Development, the NPDC “In the class that brings faculty and students from Rodney Holcomb and I teach, various engineering and agricultural our students produce financial departments together with Oklahoma impact and market research manufacturers to provide prototyping assistance. Only existing companies with a new product concept and the potential to generate annual revenues of at least $1 million and create at least 20 new jobs are eligible. “Every NPDC project is an investment in the future of Oklahoma,” says Larry Hoberock, NPDC co-director and professor and head of OSU’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

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reports as part of business plans for companies,” says Dan Tilley, professor of agricultural economics. “Our goal is to teach students how to help small manufacturers better organize, finance, manage and market their companies in the competitive global marketplace.”

Graduate student Erich Wehrenberg was part of a team last spring that created a business marketing plan for Stillwater-based Terraverde Technologies. The students’ 40-page business plan referenced company documents and interviews with the owners. “This was a superior course,” Wehrenberg says. “Sitting across the table from our clients and realizing their livelihood could depend on our effort and ingenuity leaves no doubt about our responsibility to them.” After the business plans are presented, students in the Marketing Communications Program directed by Cindy Blackwell, assistant professor of agricultural communications, create marketing tools such as websites, logos, brochures, advertisements, stationery and in-store and trade show displays.

“A lot of times, small companies have lots of marketing starts and stops,” Blackwell says. “Even when they have a plan, they often have to implement it in a piecemeal fashion as funding becomes available.” Working with clients, students develop a consistent communications package reflective of the company’s image while also offering low-cost, high-quality marketing materials and products in a print-ready format.

“Every NPDC project is an investment in the future of Oklahoma.”

of dollars if done by a professional firm. “Working on a communications “I would value this service at campaign for a real-life client was $25,000 to $75,000,” Zuege one of the most valuable experiences says. I had at OSU,” says Dustin Mielke, a Similarly, the financial reports and 2006 agricultural communications strategies resulting from agricultural graduate. “Our team learned to work economics class projects are invaluable together while assembling materials and communicating with our client. The class to small business owners. “You would not believe how helpful they are,” Zuege really allowed us to integrate the skills adds. “I’m working on a federal grant and we learn as agricultural communications loan application using the business plan students.” Besides interacting with developed by the students.” Craig Zuege, vice president of clients, students get to add When Encompass Tool & Machine Texoma Tack Co. Inc. of Durant, Okla., samples and awards to their of Ponca City, Okla., closed, Kansas says the website, ads and other products portfolios. One student group from business owner Paul Maples and Galaxy created by senior Sally Bauer during her the fall 2005 campaigns class recently Tool Corporation bought the company summer internship with the NPDC won first place in a national student and rehired the employees. would have cost his company thousands communications competition for its “I wanted a new look for the The business analysis and marketing marketing campaign for Tonkawa company,” says Maples, president. “But communications components of OSU’s Foundry. if it hadn’t been for this program I New Product Development Center benefit Since 2005, when former NPDC wouldn’t have new brochures or a Oklahoma businesses. Left, are senior staff members Cristen Leimer and new website because I’ve been so busy Sally Bauer, Dan Tilley, Craig Autumn Hood started the with sales and getting the business up Zuege of Texoma Tack, XAS marketing communications This gave us the and running. E Cindy Blackwell and Larry component, some 100 time we needed to grow and Hoberock. Opposite page, students from several focus on various areas of the from left, are Pepper Jo’s Oklahoma universities business.” Farms owners JoVita have completed 24 Janet Herren, a 2006 agricultural and Randy Black, senior projects. communications graduate, says working Jennifer Nance and Tilley. L with clients through the class project was EATH an eye-opening experience. “It made me want to work harder because I knew that my work was affecting more than just my GPA. The campaigns class is truly a hands-on experience that extends beyond the classroom and gives students the opportunity to make a real impact.”

reras photos/Erika Cont

Janet Varnum

For more information, visit npdc.okstate.edu

Scholarships Honor Theater Alum

t age 5, Thad Scott had dreams of becoming a movie star. “Thad was comfortable playing someone else,” says his mother, Sharon Scott. Thad grew up in Stillwater loving theater and the OSU Cowboys. In 1990 he graduated from OSU with a degree in theatrical arts and spent nearly 15 years working for theater companies from New York to Las Vegas. Thad’s career began with an internship at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre for the Performing Arts in Buffalo, N.Y., where he made $175 a month. “He had no car and rode his bike in the snow to get to work,” his mother says. Later, he worked in Branson, Mo., as an assistant stage manager, illusion technician and set designer for prominent entertainers including Shoji Tabuchi, Glenn Campbell and The Oakridge Boys. In 1995 he moved to Las Vegas and began working as an automation technician for the MGM Grand and the Bellagio, two of the city’s largest hotels. In 2003, Thad served as automation technician for Cirque Du Soleil’s production of “O” at the Bellagio Hotel. “Thad would run the computer board for the show,” Sharon says. “He would tell me about the high level of skill needed and the high expectations Cirque demanded.” Meeting those expectations meant long work days, a situation sometimes 84

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From left, Thad Scott’s parents Roy Scott and Sharon Scott; scholarship recipients Katie Durkee and Jessica Bennett; and family members Ryan Scott (on ladder), Tim Scott and Calley Scott.

problematic for Thad who had battled diabetes since 1986. “The nature of this business demanded late hours, but Thad seemed to enjoy working them,” Sharon says.

Thad Scott

scholarships bearing their son’s name — the Thad Scott Commemorative Endowed Scholarship and the Thad Scott Memorial Endowed Theatre Scholarship. One scholarship benefits an incoming freshman from Stillwater High School who participated in high school theater, and the other recognizes an upperclassman majoring in theater. “These scholarships are a way to keep Thad alive,” Sharon says. Senior Katie Durkee says words cannot express her appreciation to the Scott family for the scholarship. “I am honored to be the first recipient of the Thad Scott Memorial Scholarship,” she says. “My family has experienced hardship, and this assistance makes it possible for me to continue my education. “As a teenager, I saw my first Cirque show and since then have wanted to be a part of it. I wish I could have asked Thad about his journey from OSU to working backstage in a professional setting, because that has been my dream from the beginning.” Jessica Bennett, recipient of the Thad Scott Commemorative Scholarship, shares the same gratitude toward the Scott family.

“Establishing these scholarships and ensuring more students can pursue their dreams is how we are celebrating his life.”

“Little could convince him to slow down,” says his father, Roy Scott. Unfortunately, the fast-paced and grueling schedule eventually took its toll. On Dec. 13, 2005, at age 38, Thad died suddenly from what doctors concluded was hypoglycemia, a complication of diabetes that causes dangerously low levels of blood sugar. “It was a juggling act with his caloric intake and insulin,” Sharon says. “We were just unprepared for his untimely death.” Wanting to memorialize Thad’s passion for theater and love for OSU, the Scott family partnered with the OSU Foundation to establish two

“This scholarship is truly a gift,” Bennett says. “Like Thad Scott, I have been a part of the Stillwater community and plan to continue my goal toward a degree in theater production. This money makes it possible.” Sharon says her son would be proud to know his life has inspired others. “Establishing these scholarships and ensuring more students can pursue their dreams is how we are celebrating his life.” For more information about establishing a memorial fund at OSU or to donate to one of the Thad Scott Memorial scholarships, contact the OSU Foundation at (800) 622-4678 or www.osugiving.com.

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There’s no doubt starting a new business from the ground up takes time, money, teamwork and an entrepreneurial spirit. But OSU alumnus Piyush Patel is no stranger to pioneering new projects. As an elementary education major at OSU in 1998, Patel was just beginning to touch the surface of what would become a career of entrepreneurial endeavors. During his senior year, Patel founded the “I Wonder” Fair, an annual hands-on fair designed to educate more than 6,000 Oklahoma fifth-graders about opportunities available in science and academics. “Young kids need to explore,” Patel says. “In fact, statistically, fifth-graders are already developing career interests. We just wanted to encourage them by supplying options.” Since the first 5,000 fifth-graders were invited to campus, interest in the program has steadily grown. “It’s been fun to watch its success over the years,” Patel says. Armed with the same entrepreneurial spirit and his education from OSU, Patel is now taking on his largest venture as founder and CEO of PL Studios. PL Studios, a multimedia company originally focused on helping small Oklahoma businesses, is gaining the attention of Hollywood. Patel’s core product, Digital-Tutors training suites, is used by nearly every motion picture company in the world. Pixar, the entertainment giant responsible for Toy Story and Cars, uses his Digital-Tutor software to train its employees. Other clients using PL Studios’ tutorials include Walt Disney Animation, Warner Brothers, Nike and Motorola. “The growth is exciting,” Patel says. “We believed in our product, but no one thought we’d have this kind of success so quickly.” His software isn’t the only thing stirring excitement around the office. PL Studios’ corporate color — orange — radiates from employee T-shirts, orange walls and even the oversized bean bag chair in Patel’s office. The company website has a “get orange” contest encouraging clients to wear orange and gain recognition on the PL Studios’ homepage. “We’re recognized everywhere we go because of the color association,” Patel says. “Orange abstractly defines my success,” he says. “My experiences and endless opportunities at OSU are the reason I’m successful today.” Patel credits his mentor, Brenda Solomon, former manager of outreach programs for the College of Education, with being a positive influence during the formation of the first “I Wonder” Fair and later helping him get his first job at Northern Oklahoma College where his success led to the design of an international animation program. “She’s the first person who really gave me a chance,” Patel says. “It’s people at OSU like Dr. Solomon whose confidence inspires your spirit and makes you want to succeed in all levels of business and your personal life. That’s what the OSU experience has done for me.” 87

The Southwest Museum of the American Indian

Winter 2006

teven Karr ’01, Ph.D., history, He and his wife, Carrie Miller, started compares his job as curator graduate school together at OSU in 1995 of the Southwest Museum after Karr received a full assistantship of the American Indian in — one of several things that drew him to Los Angeles, Calif., to being the university. a college professor — only “I really wanted to go to Native without the classroom America,” Karr says. teaching. He also wanted to work with While much of his work involves professor L.G. Moses, a fellow research and writing, he also dedicates Californian, who has taught “History of much of his time to a range of public the American West” and “Native North programs and exhibitions interpreting America” at OSU since 1989. Native cultures of North America. Karr Karr was appointed curator of the says he particularly enjoys working with Southwest Museum of the American numerous Indian tribes and communiIndian in 2005 after serving as a curator ties throughout California. of history at the Natural History “I get paid to do what I love, and Museum of Los Angeles County for that’s to study Native cultures,” he says. nearly four years. Miller received her The museum, part of the Autry master’s in child development at OSU National Center, is a privately-funded, in 1998 and is now an attorney for the nonprofit organization and was founded California Institute of Technology in 1907. It is the oldest museum in Los in Pasadena. Angeles and the second largest American Karr says he never anticipated Indian museum in the country. working at a museum although he Collections include objects and artifacts has always been interested in history, ranging from the Abenaki Indians of anthropology and material culture. He New England to the Zuni tribe of New landed the opportunity, however, when Mexico, in addition to artifacts from he was offered a research fellowship both Meso-America and South America. from the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum Karr received his bachelor’s degree in history from Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire and his master’s B y M o r g a n P r a t T in history from Pepperdine University.

Photos courtesy Southwest Museum, Autry National Center www.autrynationalcenter.org/southwest/

of Anthropology while working on his dissertation and teaching classes in American Indian history at the University of California, Berkeley. He continues to teach history courses in the American Indian Studies department at the University of California, Los Angeles. Although Karr’s interest extends to all Native cultures, his research focuses primarily on the Native cultures of California and Oklahoma. For his master’s thesis, Karr wrote about the Choctaw of Oklahoma, and for his dissertation he focused on Mission Indian culture in Southern California. Karr, a third-generation Los Angeleno, says few people realize or appreciate the role of Native cultures in shaping America’s history. As a result, it’s challenging to help the broader public understand the importance and context of objects in Indian exhibitions. “We are studying history, culture and artifacts, but these aren’t merely representative pieces of the past — they represent today as well,” Karr says. “It’s a struggle to get non-Indians to realize that Native peoples throughout North America are very much a part of our society today. Many of their cultures are as vibrant as ever.”

As curator of the Southwest Museum of the American Indian, OSU alum Steven Karr works to broaden the understanding of Native cultures’ role in shaping American history.

C hapt e r s

From Coast to Coast From Alaska to Florida and everywhere in between, OSU alumni chapters are the perfect way to connect to OSU in your part of the world. Since the OSU Alumni Association began its chapters program in 1905, alumni and friends in Oklahoma and across the country have banded together to wave the blazing orange in their own communities. Now, new chapters are emerging as alumni abroad are beginning to formalize their association to the university through international chapters. Each chapter has its own character, but they all connect alumni to OSU. Individual chapters host university speakers, sponsor gamewatch parties for Cowboy fans, cultivate relationships with local students and provide fellowship and fun for their members. If you want to take an active role in planning or participating in local activities, call the chapter leader in your area. Or become a leader yourself and create a new chapter. For more information, contact Josh Pulver at josh.pulver@okstate.edu or call 800-433-4678.

Under the Bright Lights Hang on Music City, the Cowboys are comin’ to town! The newest chapter of the OSU Alumni Association was chartered in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 24. The group kicked off the event by watching OSU alum R.W. McQuarters and the New York Giants take on the Dallas Cowboys. Later, they named their chapter the Music City Cowboys and elected officers. “Having a new chapter in Nashville is great,” says Josh Pulver, Alumni Association coordinator of chapter and external relations.

“Having a new chapter in Nashville is great.”

Winter 2006

Plans are in the works for basketball game watch parties and a pre-game event on Dec. 18 when the Cowboys travel to Nashville to take on the University of Tennessee.

Students Enjoy Interaction with International Alumni Last May, 18 College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology (CEAT) Scholars traveled to Japan to study culture and technology. While there, they were able to spend time with several international OSU alumni in Tokyo. The alumni planned an event for students at Tokyo Bowl that included tons of fun, food and conversation. “It was great to hear their stories of what they’ve done since leaving OSU as well as what OSU was like when they were here,” says Laura Lenker, chemical engineering senior.

“Many of them expressed a desire to have Hideaway pizza again!” While in Japan, the students also visited Sony headquarters and R&D, Toyota Motor Company and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as well as the Golden Pavilion, the Himeji Castle, several shrines and other cultural places.

Alumni Association President Announces Plans for Retirement Jerry Gill, president and CEO of the OSU Alumni Association, has announced he will retire on July 1, 2007, after 22½ years as the association’s chief executive officer and 34 years of service to OSU. “The time is right for me, personally, and for the Association,” Gill says. “It has been a privilege and a great honor to serve my alma mater, and I will always cherish the friendships forged with thousands of dedicated alumni, faculty and staff whom I have had the opportunity to work with over the years.” OSU System CEO and President David Schmidly said, “We appreciate Jerry’s contributions to OSU and his outstanding leadership during a time of historic growth at the Alumni Association. We wish Jerry and his family all the best and know he will continue to make an impact at OSU.” Gill, a three-year starter for the Cowboy football team, earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in history from OSU. He was a graduate teaching assistant and adjunct professor and authored the International Programs volume of OSU’s Centennial History Series. Previous to his tenure in the Alumni Association, he served as associate

director of High School and College Relations and director of Athletic Gift Programs in charge of athletic fundraising and the OSU Posse. “Jerry has provided extraordinary leadership to our association for nearly a quarter of a century and has helped build it into one of the most respected alumni associations in the nation,” says Calvin Anthony, chairman of the board of directors of the OSU Alumni Association. “We deeply appreciate his contributions and will miss his leadership and commitment to our organization, but we also understand his request to step down after a lifetime of service to his alma mater.”

Alumni Association Oklahoma State University Wanted The Oklahoma State University Alumni Association is seeking applications

from dynamic, accomplished individuals for the position of president and chief executive officer. The association has a long-standing tradition of programs and currently serves more than 200,000 living graduates as well as friends of OSU throughout the world.

OSU is a vibrant research land-grant institution encompassing five campus sites with enrollment of 32,400 as well as extension offices in every county in the state of Oklahoma. The position is located on the main campus in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

For full consideration, send an application letter, résumé and references to: ATTN: Chairman of the President & CEO Search Committee, OSU Alumni Association P.O. Box 2228 Stillwater, OK 74076-2228. The OSU Alumni Association is an EEO employer.

Winter 2006

The Position Description

Candidate Qualifications

The president of the OSU Alumni Association is the organization’s chief executive officer and reports directly to the association’s board of directors. The president is responsible for overall management of the association, which includes alumni relations, membership programs, a professional staff and financial and real estate assets. The position requires innovative, entrepreneurial leadership from a person passionately committed to the advancement of the association’s mission. The two-fold mission of the association includes service to alumni and to OSU. Therefore the president serves as a member of the OSU System CEO and President’s Executive Team and works in partnership with campus presidents and university leaders including the deans, vice president of athletics, president/CEO of the OSU Foundation and other key administrators.

Personal Skills and Attributes

Above all, the president will be an individual of absolute integrity, representing the association and university at all times in a professional and ethical manner. Actions of the president will demonstrate commitment to the association’s mission, the vision and values of a land-grant university and respect for higher education. Exceptional relationshipbuilding skills are also critical. The president must be able to develop and maintain collaborative partnerships based upon mutual trust and value with association leaders, staff members and the university’s many internal and external constituencies including public officials. The position requires extraordinary communication skills, including writing, public speaking and facilitating large and small groups. The president must be able to work for extended periods of time in an environment that requires a high level of energy, to attend numerous evening and weekend events and travel extensively. Also important is the ability to work within a highly complex institutional setting.

Leadership and Management

• Lead and manage a professional staff as well as volunteers • Possess a business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit • Experience with operational, strategic and tactical planning • Experience in marketing and promotion • Knowledge of financial management, including supervision of budgets, financial assets and risk assessment • Demonstrated success in fundraising Education and Work Experience

A bachelor’s degree is required, with an advanced degree preferred. Ideal work experience will include a minimum of 10 years of increasing management and leadership responsibility in one or more of the following areas: • business and industry • higher education advancement (alumni relations, fundraising and communications/marketing) • trade and professional associations • not-for-profit organizations

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Puzzle Layout and Design: Matt Mueggenborg (answers are posted at http://www.magazine.okstate.edu)

ACROSS 1 4 11 12 14 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 44 45

Atmosphere Flaunt Fairy tale opener Lake Carl ___ in Stillwater Undergarment ___ ___ (with 35D), Protective clothing for soldiers designed by OSU faculty Beach Compass point Mid-Eastern dwellers Slimly Towers Ditto (2 wds.) Dismount Grain ___ Allen, Former chairman and CEO of Phillips Petroleum Company Threaded nail Onto Portland locale Three-toed sloth Smooth tightly twisted thread Priest Vex Sun god Nova Scotia (abbr.) Cushy Angels' head wear Sorrow Sea eagle Slum Stupidity Nation Winter 2006

46 Fly 47 "Waiting for ___" by OSU Author Toni Graham 48 Nautical "friend" 49 City Boca ___ 50 Reflect 51 Japanese money 52 Insertion mark 53 Boss 54 OSU Residence Hall 55 Floral leaf 56 Fizzy drinks 57 A blank or empty area 58 With ears 59 OSU Residence Hall 60 Have thoughts 61 Change 62 Strange 63 Leaf 64 Verges 65 Football Coach Mike 66 Dorm dwellers 67 Ball holder 70 Slow, shelled animal 71 English men 72 Spells 73 Slopes 75 Sports channel 76 Glides 77 Oklahoma City 78 Pete's Horse 79 Gauze 80 Chi-O ___ in Stillwater 81 Glue 82 Jargon 83 Georgia (abbr.) 84 Amplitude modulation

13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 33 34 35 39

85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 107 108 109

Large hotel room OSU Residence Hall ___ Hall in Tulsa Silver (abbr.) Terbium (abbr.) College of ___ and Sciences Positions OSU Cheer: Go ___! East northeast Yellowish green In the __ (jungles) Out of the mouths of __ Western Athletic Conferences Revolt Flurry Buckets ___ Training Center in OKC Disconsolate Exodus Lake ___ Blackwell in Stillwater Lots Fawn's mom

DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Raggedy Ann's friend Slippery frigid Scale note Glowing part of a fire Child Fall mo. Eur. kingdom Northwest ___ Research ___ (With 87D) Shove Slime ___ Pickens Stadium in Stillater

41 43 44 45 46 48 49 50 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 76 77 78 80 81 82 85 86 87 91 92 93 95 96 97 98 101 102 105 106 107

Sign of the zodiac Salty Remnant Hatred Done as a boy Shyly Disinterested Odd How ___ Are You? Pistol Pete's Rope "The Real __" Epochs Sleep disorder Stays Ridiculous Student ___ in Stillwater Induct (2 wds.) Manservant ___ ___ (with 17A), Protective clothing for soldiers designed by OSU faculty ___ and Restaurant Administration (Degree Program) ___ Scholars at Cambridge University Gentry First woman Unit of electric capacitance Plastic wrap __ full alma ___ , School Anthem Spirit ___ in Stillwater Inadequate Goddess Leaky FBI employees Piyush ___, Founder of "I Wonder" Fair and PL Studios Childrens sliding toys Takes off ___ Avenue in Tulsa Father's sisters ___ Pond in Stillwater Adjust Peculiarity Dip Casts A sense of fitness or propriety. Horses The condition of cultivated soil Annex Flair Two from each state Pistol Pete's footwear Public transportation vehicles Stalks Where actors work Narrow openings Military weapons Uncovers Hand lotion brand Theta ___ on the OSU-Stillwater campus Cola's Not lost Lemon ___ Research ___ (With 9D) OSU Cheer: ___ Cowboys! Sets of socks Duke Historic OSU Coach Henry ___ Compact bundle Data transmission rate Cable School group Food and Agriculture Organization (abbr.) Little Rock locale Providence locale Digital music disc

Bail Out Hoodie $56.95

30s Raymond N. Bryson ’31, an sci, is 97 and remains a loyal OSU fan.

Neill F. Armstrong ’47, sec ed, and his wife, Jane, have two grandchildren who graduated in 2005. Cole Farden graduated from OSU with an education degree, and Cayley Armstrong graduated with a marketing degree. Another grandson, Beau Armstrong, still attends OSU. Joy E. Haynes ’47, house arts, and her husband, J.E., recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a Mediterranean cruise. Ebba Marie Johnson ’47, HEECS, is archivist historian emeritus of the Oklahoma Lutheran Women’s Missionary League. In the past 10 years, her family increased by six great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter. Billy C. Clark ’48, mech eng, and his wife, Mary, moved last year from Broken Arrow, Okla., to a smaller home in Tulsa that requires much less lawn care. Now their lawn is only 50 square feet; the Broken Arrow lawn was 11,000 square feet. Bruce E. Honeycutt ’48, psych, and his wife, Leola, celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in September. They have four children, nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Allene Woolever Barnes ’36, ed, and her husband, Walter D. Barnes, ’38, ag, recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. They were married in the parsonage of North Methodist Church in Stillwater while they were students at OSU. Allene and Walter now live in an assisted living community in Kingfisher, Okla.

40s Maurice R. Ransom ’40, elec eng, still works as an engineer three mornings a week. Three of his grandchildren have graduated from college, with five left to graduate. Jesse C. Grissom ’42, agron, celebrated his 86th birthday Nov. 4. Marjorie Patchin Meggs ’42, house arts, has seven great-grandsons and one greatgranddaughter. Her husband, James, ’47, agron, died in May 2005. They were married 62 years. 96

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Robert G. Meyer ’48, ag econ, and his wife, Lorene, will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary Dec. 29. They remain active in retirement and take care of their large yard by themselves. Charles N. Williams ’48, poultry sci, ’52, M.S., and his wife, Patricia, ’48, journ, celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary in July. Margie R. Horn ’49, hort and land arch, has been retired since 1985. She is active in her church and in the Mexican Folk Art Society. John B. Olson ’49, elec eng, says he’s “still kicking, but slowing down.” Paul Rooker ’49, an sci, ’61, M.S., occup and adult ed, and his wife, Pauline, ’50, HEECS, ’62, M.S., elem ed, celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary in September.

50s Richard C. Davis ’50, agron, and his wife, Doris, are enjoying life in Tyler, Texas,

where they raise quarter horses. They enjoy being involved in their church and visiting family. Belva Neal-Yoxsimer ’50, exec sec admin, and her husband, Ron, are enjoying retirement. They recently traveled to Colorado, Maine, Walt Disney World, Las Vegas, Branson, Mo., and Portland, Ore. Homer Pickhardt ’50, elec eng, is a consultant log analyst with expertise in interpretation of pre-1955 electric logs. His wife, Loretta, attended OSU in 1950. Wes Wyatt ’50, mktg, continues to work in the insurance and financial planning industry, sharing selling ideas through personal help, videotapes and the more than 30 books and manuals he has written. Dale R. Gunn ’51, dairy sci, recently sold his company, Comanche Supply Co., and retired. He enjoys working in his church and community as well as traveling, hunting and fishing. Robin Robertson ’51, elem ed, ’58, M.S., was happy to see two photos of her granddaughter, Casady, attending OSU’s Grandparent University in the spring 2006 issue of STATE magazine. Don C. Wilson ’51, gen bus, has been retired for 22 years. He and his wife, Gloria Wilkerson-Wilson, live in Mexico. Karleen F. DeBlaker ’52, gen bus, retired in 2004 after 30 years of public service as an elected official in Florida. Her husband, Charles “Chuck,” ’54, elec eng, is retired from Honeywell Corporation, where he was a quality control supervisor. Clarence W. Drake ’52, sec ed, and his wife, Wanda, ’55, sec ed, enjoyed their trip back to Stillwater for the 2005 OSU homecoming celebration. George Seamands ’52, bus and pub admin, and his wife, Lorie, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June. Their four children and their spouses as well as eight grandchildren visited, including one grandchild who attends the U.S. Military Academy. Richard K. Sewell ’52, an sci, and his wife, Jan, are retired and enjoy traveling. Howard K. Wohlfarth ’52, forestry, enjoys touring foreign countries, gardening, walking, fishing and, occasionally, golfing. Charles Annibale ’54, an sci, is retired

from the U.S. Department of Labor, where he served as director of regional program operations. Ronald E. Blackwell ’54, an sci, is retired from the American Quarter Horse Association, the largest equine breed registry in the world. He enjoys playing golf. Donald Patterson ’54, DVM, is retired from the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School and now serves as an emeritus professor. He is writing a book and creating a computer database on genetic diseases in dogs. Paul D. Weatherford ’54, bus and pub admin, will celebrate his 78th birthday on New Year’s Day. Bill Heard ’55, zoo, recently was named the 2006 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Employee of the Year. He is a supervisory research biologist in Auke Bay, Alaska, where he oversees the work of 11 scientists in salmon research activities along the Pacific Rim. Verdo Hooker ’55, forestry, and his wife, Lorraine, have three great-grandchildren. Their granddaughter, Leslie Bell, attends OSU.

John Mack Pursell ’56, ag ed, ’57, M.S., ’78, Ed.D, retired to California in 1999 after teaching for nine years and serving for 30 years as a school administrator. He and his wife, Rebecca, recently moved back to Stillwater to watch the Cowboys play football and basketball. Victor E. Bailey ’57, M.S., ed admin, continues to practice law in Fairview, Okla., where he has been an attorney for 35 years. Donald M. Hensley ’57, ag ed, and his wife, Sharon, ’56, Engl, recently celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary. They are retired from teaching high school and farming and split their time between Ruidoso, N.M., and Brownfield, Texas. Liz Oliphant ’57, home ec, ’57, journ, recently was honored by Southern Methodist University as a 2006 Legendary Communicator. She received the award for more than 25 years of professionalism and ethics in public relations and for her leadership as a role model for SMU communications students. She also is president of a Dallas-based public relations and marketing firm. Fred Gordon ’59, geol, and his wife, Ginger, ’59, bus ed, have been retired since 1993 and run a cow and calf operation east of Ardmore, Okla. They enjoy playing with their grandson.

60s Bill A. Jackson ’55, physio, and his son, Chris Jackson, ’85, mech eng, enjoyed attending the OSU vs. Arkansas State basketball game in December with Jackson Boyd, 16, and George Boyd, 9, sons of Laura Boyd, ’81, acct.

Raymond Anglin ’60, psych, retired in June 2005 after 40 years as a school psychologist in Illinois. Harrold R. Mansell ’60, mktg, recently started his 20th consecutive year in office as senior municipal judge for the state of New Mexico.

Kenneth Anderson ’56, an sci, ’87, M.S., ag, and his wife, Barbara, recently welcomed a great-grandson, Blaize. They celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary in Ruidoso, N.M. Tom Crewson ’56, pol sci, is a retired district judge. Dick Terrell ’56, bus and pub admin, and his wife, Teresa, have two grandsons attending OSU, Chris and Paul.

Richard Blake ’61, DVM, recently was named 2006 Veterinarian of the Year by the Oklahoma Veterinary Medicine Association. He is the 15th OSU alumnus

to receive the honor. Richard and his wife, Barbara, recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They have three grown sons and two grandchildren. Richard Fritze ’61, agron, and his wife, Linda, enjoyed attending OSU’s spring commencement to see their granddaughter, Megan Hannabass, ’06, fin, receive her degree. Allen Haight ’61, bus mgmt, and his wife, Joy Chase Haight, ’61, home ec, are retired and divide their time between Lake Conroe in Texas and Durango, Colo. They have two children and one grandson who live in Texas. Carroll Haygood ’61, an sci, retired in 2005 as CEO of Great Plains Ag Credit in Amarillo, Texas. Robert G. Moorhead ’61, bio sci, ’75, M.S., nat app sci, retired in 1994 after 30 years of teaching in Ponca City, Okla. He and his wife, Velda, have three sons, Mike Moorhead, ’86, phys ed, Brian Moorhead, ’89, bio sci, and Gary. Starling Miller ’61, pre-vet, ’65, DVM, and his wife, Joan, acquired a new granddaughter in May after her marriage to their grandson, Derek Hines. They now have 17 grandchildren and five greatgrandchildren. Will Schmidt ’61, M.S., ag ed, and his wife, Dorothy, enjoy spending summers in Lake City, Colo. Their youngest daughter, Laura, will graduate from OSU in May. Dan G. Roe ’62, draft and design, ’62, mech tech, had one of his HVAC designs featured in the June issue of ASHRAE journal. He was co-author of the article and the design engineer and manager for the project. Sharon Bartlett ’63, gen admin, is an active community volunteer. She has chaired the Radio Days event for Youth Services of Tulsa and the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence banquet. Charles Bogle ’64, mech eng, and his wife, Dorothy, who attended OSU in 1963, moved to Westcliffe, Colo., after retiring from Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth, Texas. They now have a beautiful view of the Sangre DeCristo Mountains and the Wet Mountain Valley. Wesley Harris ’64, ind eng and mgmt, ’65, M.S., recently retired. His wife, Renée, attended OSU in 1964.

Larry Ober ’64, Engl, retired in 2005 after a 40-year career in insurance investigations. Two of his four grown children graduated from OSU. Earlene Parr ’65, hist, ’69, M.A., plans to retire this year and become an adjunct professor at Rose State Community College. Bob Pollock ’64, elec eng, and his wife, Jeanette, are enjoying retirement in Frisco, Texas. They have two children, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Lyndell M. Grubbs ’65, psych, and his wife, Nancy, recently purchased Boss Game Systems, a manufacturer of deer blinds, deer feeders and archery hunting stands. Richard A. Rodgers ’65, mech eng, and his wife, Linda, ’64, Engl, recently moved from Oklahoma City to Stillwater. Richard retired after 39 years in management at Tinker Air Force Base, and Linda retired after a 23-year career as a realtor. They are enjoying their new home near OSU. Eugene G. Sharp ’65, sec ed, retired from teaching math and computers at Enid High School and later worked in the maintenance department for Enid Public Schools. He now farms in the Carrier-Goltry area. R. Charles McFate ’66, dairy sci, ’69, M.S., ag ed, and his wife, Linda, ’66, HEECS, ’69, M.S., enjoyed taking their grandson, Karl Wittenburg, 7, on a ninestate western tour in July. Charles works part time for Eagle Security, and Linda remains busy as Phi Theta Kappa adviser for Coffeeville Community College. They recently accompanied a group of Phi Theta Kappa members to their international convention in Seattle, where the chapter placed 3rd runner-up to Most Distinguished Chapter of the Year. Gladstone T. Stevens Jr. ’66, Ph.D., ind eng, retired from the University of Texas at Arlington in August 2003, where he is a professor and department chair emeritus. Carolyn Herald ’67, HEECS, is human resources manager for Stericycle Inc. She has a 16-month-old grandson and two granddaughters, ages 4 and 6. Ken Hopcus ’67, mech eng, has served 16 years as fire industrial advisory member to the Web Handling Research Center at OSU. He and his wife, Sue, have two grandsons by their daughter, who is a captain in the U.S. Army. Their son is an 98

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environmental chemist and has a son and a daughter. John Mason ’67, agron, ’79, M.S., and his wife, Roberta, ’74, bus ed, have two children. Tyler, 22, attends college and is a senior airman in the Texas Air National Guard. Jennifer, 18, is a freshman at OSU and is a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Gloria Rehrig ’67, trade and ind ed, is a retired high school counselor. Her son, Alan Rehrig, ’78, sec ed, played basketball and football at OSU and was killed in 1985. His murder is still unsolved. Her oldest son, Phillip, has a terminal blood disease but continues to teach and coach at Cookson Hills. Terry Tandy ’68, mech eng, works as a maintenance manager for Terra Nitrogen. He also is a land developer in Claremore, Okla., where he lives with his wife, Sue. Richard B. Dicks ’69, bus and pub admin, was named CFO for the Enerteck Corporation in fall 2005. The company sells a diesel fuel additive that can decrease fuel requirements by up to 15 percent. Thomas E. Phelps ’69, DVM, and his wife, Janie, ’69, sec ed, enjoy playing with their four grandchildren, ages 5, 3, 2 and 1. Janie recently retired from teaching after 25 years. David Ricker ’69, mech eng, received a master of divinity degree from Brite School of Divinity in May.

70s Dennis Stocksen ’70, ag econ, and his wife, Linda, enjoy spending time with their three grandchildren, who are excited about attending Cowboy football games. Gary Voise ’70, ag econ, retired from 3M Company and now owns his own business. Letha Grace Caudle ’71, sec ed, ’77, M.A., hist, wrote an article about Bristow Junior College that was published by the Oklahoma Chronicles. She is writing another article about the history of Bristow Public Schools. Carla A. Fellers ’71, psych, and her husband, Phill, recently moved their marketing business to their new home in

Guthrie, Okla. Their daughter, Charly (Tautfest) Hengen, ’01, journ, recently joined the U.S. Coast Guard. James “Jim” Voelkers ’71, chem eng, and his wife, Rhonda, have a daughter, Emily, who is a freshman at OSU in the College of Human Environmental Sciences. Jo Anne Davis ’72, spec ed, ’76, M.S., curr and instruct, ’87, Ed.D., retired in Edmond to be near her children and grandchildren. She enjoys volunteer tutoring and attending OSU ballgames in Stillwater, where her family now has its family reunions. Steve George ’72, mktg, and his wife, Patsy, ’71, elem ed, are the proud grandparents of Cody George, 3, and Blake George, 1. Roger Walker ’73, mech eng, ’74, M.A., left Bolthouse Farms in June to return to the oil industry. He now works for Occidental Petroleum in the vintage reproduction division. His son, Chris, married in October 2005. Carol Clayton Wiggins ’74, hist, works at a ministry for mostly undocumented Mexican and Central American immigrants. She also is a freelance writer. Jan Duck-Wiedemann ’74, sec ed, welcomed a great-granddaughter, Madalynne Kashner, in August 2005. Sande Kuepper ’74, journ, ’76, MBA, and her husband, Bill, have four grandchildren. They also have two dogs, Lucy, a lab, and Ricky, a standard poodle. Jim Hurtle ’75, elec eng, retired from a 28-year career at Procter & Gamble in 2003. After working for Hewlett-Packard as part of an information technology outsourcing agreement, he retired in October 2005. He now is the telecommunications leader for a major Cincinnati hospital group, where he takes care of local phone systems. Garner Pewewardy ’75, trade and ind ed, ’78, M.S., has a new job teaching industrial technology in New Mexico. Marilyn Quadracci Fabry ’75, math, is a teacher at Los Alamos Public Schools. She has two grandchildren, ages 3 and 5. Carolyn Clifton ’76, HEECS, loves her job with the OSU Cooperative Extension Service. Her husband, Joe, recently began teaching at Drumright High School, where he is head coach for boys’ basketball

and an assistant football coach. Their son, Tyler, attends the University of Central Oklahoma.

80s

Mickey Coats ’76, math, and his wife, Susan, ’70, elem ed, have two children at OSU. Their daughter, Andria, is a junior, and their son, Marty, is a freshman.

Marcia Wilson ’81, HRAD, celebrated three years as a breast cancer survivor in August.

Steven L. Gates ’76, journ, ’86, D.O., is on the board of trustees of the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association and was recertified in geriatrics through 2015.

Frank E. Babcock ’82, hort and land arch, ’83, M.S., and his wife, Susan, recently welcomed a puppy, Bronson, to the family.

Mike Isch ’76, arch, and his wife, Julie, ’89, FRCD, recently celebrated their 32nd wedding anniversary. Mike says they are living vicariously through their children, one a freshman at OSU and one a freshman at Putnam City North High School. Jennifer Slaughter Brown ’76, HEECS, lives in Jenks, Okla., and is vice president of loan administration at Tulsa National Bank. She and her husband, Michael, are longtime football season ticket holders. They have especially enjoyed the past two seasons watching their niece, Jessica Dukes, play in the Cowboy marching band. Gates Compton ’77, ag econ, welcomed his first grandchild, Ryan Scott, in February. He and his wife, Teresa, who attended OSU in 1973, traveled to Atsugi, Japan, to see the new baby. Jerry D. Winchester ’77, agron, retired from the Soil Conservation Service after 32 years. He now is a rancher in eastern Love County and has three grown children and two grandchildren, Lacie and Colton. Robert Wayne Dodd ’78, mech power tech, and his wife, Carol, ’78, bus and pub admin, have been married 30 years. Their daughter, Michelle, recently started her freshman year in college, and their son, Nick, a junior in high school, received his Boy Scout Eagle rank in August. Janet Wiley ’78, HEECS, is a teacher for Oakdale School. Her daughter, Kristen, HRAD, and daughter-in-law AnDina Wiley, elem ed, graduated from OSU in May. Her son, Jared, ag comm, also graduated in 2005. She and her husband, Mark, who attended OSU in 1978, are glad to see a third generation of OSU alumni in the family. Janet’s parents are Melford Scott, ’54, an sci, and Margaret, who also attended OSU.

Steve Olsen ’82, M.S., vet parasit, recently was named COO for Molecular Pathology Laboratory Network Inc. in Maryville, Tenn., and its subsidiary, Ascendant Medical Laboratory, in Knoxville, Tenn. He was previously director of pathology and director of the reference laboratory at High Point Regional Health System. Bill Wall ’82, trade and ind ed, retired from Tinker Air Force Base after 36 years in government service. He now works as a logistics engineer for Dynamics Research Corporation.

Kathleen, who graduated in 2005 from Rutgers University. Their son, Jesam, graduated in April from the University of Pittsburgh. Patrick McLaughlin ’83, Ph.D., hist, and his wife, Nancy, welcomed their second grandchild, Tysen, in August 2005. Their other grandson, Chase, will celebrate his 3rd birthday this month. Jean Hudson ’84, org admin, and her husband, John, have a grandson, Danny Hudson, serving the U.S. Army in Italy.

Clayton L. Conley ’85, an sci, recently became commanding officer of the U.S. Navy helicopter squadron HSL-49 at Naval Air Station, North Island, in Coronado, Calif. Under his command, the squadron’s 249 sailors will continue to provide combatready helicopter detachments in support of the war on terror. His squadron will fly its armed SH-60B Seahawks in various missions, including anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare. Anthony Goodwin ’85, mgmt, and his wife, Donna, adopted their daughter, Kyra, in April 2005 from Fuling, China. Kyra celebrated her second birthday in April.

Bonnie Lee Appleton ’83, Ph.D., crop sci, recently was awarded the Certificate of Teaching Excellence from Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Appleton was recognized for her dedication to teaching excellence and the positive impact she has made on students’ lives by sharing her love of horticulture. Lori Hughes Markes ’83, spec ed, recently began a job with First United Methodist Church in Enid, Okla., as the director of children’s education. Her daughter, Grace, is a freshman at OSU. Sylvester Ikpi ’83, forestry, ’85, agron, and his wife, Eugenia, have a daughter,

James “Jim” Horning ’85, chem eng, and his wife, Jamie, ’85, chem eng, stay busy with their two children, Matthew, 16, and Madeline, 13. Madeline is on a Division I club soccer team, and Matthew is on his high school basketball team, helping work toward its fourth consecutive state championship. Cousy Nash ’85, an sci, accepted a job with U.S. Smokeless Tobacco in October 2005 as a quality systems support manager. He will graduate this month with a master’s degree in political science from Northeastern Illinois University. Lynne Arnold Policastro ’86, sec ed, had a nature story titled “Jorge’s Garden” published in the March 18, 2006, issue of Our Little Friend, a spiritually-oriented magazine. 99

Brian Meyer ’86, ag econ, and his wife, Becky, ’93, elem ed, ’95, M.S., app behav studies, traveled to China in November 2005 to bring home their daughter, Meleah Lin. Scott Burk ’87, microbio, and Chris Burk, ’89, bio sci, moved to Montana to begin private practices in 2005. They have three daughters, ages 13, 11 and 6. Their oldest daughter says she is looking forward to attending college at OSU. Devin Giddens ’88, pol sci, recently was named vice president of Crusader Energy Group. Hayden Henry ’88, agron, and his wife, Sherrie Bollinger Henry, ’88, acct, have a seventh-grade daughter who is enrolled in the Advanced Placement program at Edison Preparatory School in Tulsa. Sherrie started her own practice in January after nine years of employment with a Tulsa regional CPA firm. Baron McMillen ’88, RTVF, recently joined the firm of Jones Lang LaSalle in Atlanta. He and his wife, Shannon, celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary in April. The whole family traveled to China last year to adopt a little girl. Carol Bridges ’89, Ph.D., CHES, recently won the 2006 Teaching Excellence Award and was named the 2006 Adolph Linscheid Distinguished Professor at East Central University. Kevin Holmes ’89, psych, ’05, M.S., ed leader studies, became director of business affairs for OSU-Tulsa in April 2005.

90s Charles Claflin ’90, ag econ, is treasurer of the Vernon County Youth Fair Board as well as a networking board member for his local bank. He and his wife, Michelle, have three children, Cody, 17, Caitlin, 11, and Carly, 7. Jeffrey A. Dlabach ’90, physio, specializes in sports medicine as an orthopaedic surgeon for the Campbell Clinic. His wife, Elaine, is a senior attorney with FedEx. They have three children, Isabel, 5, Nicholas, 3, and Reese, 2.

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John Harned ’90, acct, ’91, M.S., recently was appointed founding executive director of Tallgrass Creek, Erickson Communities’ Next Generation campus in Overland Park, Kan. He will transition from his current duties as the associate director at Eagle’s Trace over the winter and will start the position Jan. 1. He is a licensed nursing home administrator and health insurance agent and a CPA. John also is working toward a master’s degree in theology. Aimee Sims ’90, FRCD, is the owner of MCS Auction Services. She and her husband, Matt, ’97, an sci, have two children, Jake and Evan Colt. Dee Wint ’90, HRAD, is an account executive for the Baker Group. He and his wife, Suzanne, have two daughters, Chandler and Allie.

Eric L. Johnson ’91, acct, recently was named chair of the National Automotive Finance Association’s legal committee. He brings to the position 11 years of experience counseling banks, credit unions and consumer finance companies on compliance with federal laws and regulations. Eric also teaches consumer law as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma City University School of Law. Raylene Kelley ’91, bus ed, and her husband, Dale, ’95, civ eng, ’97, M.S., have been married six years and have two sons, Dale III and Chase. Raylene has been a teacher in Mannford, Okla., for 15 years, and Dale works for Kleinfelder Engineering in Broken Arrow, Okla. Lori Stark ’91, elem ed, and her husband, Kenny, enjoy going to Cowboy football and basketball games with their children, Rachel and Justin.

Brandon Burton ’91, an sci, ’93, M.S., is president of Burton & Associates PC. He and his wife, Kim, ’90, mktg, have three children, Braxton, 9, Courtlyn, 5, and Brandon Jr., 1. Patti Duckworth ’91, comp sci, joined Cherokee Nation Enterprises in April as senior manager of application services. Fred E. Hampton ’91, chem eng, and his wife, Marla, have three children and future OSU Cowboys, Hanna, 9, Addison, 6, and Gavin, 2. Shari Holloway Turner ’91, an sci, and her husband, Gail, welcomed a son, Ross, in November 2005. They recently moved to Lawton, Okla., where they operate a performance horse marketing business. Gail is a county commissioner, and Shari continues her graphic design work for purebred cattle operations.

John Eaton ’92, acct, recently became a partner at Ernst & Young. He has more than 14 years of experience serving public and private clients in oil and gas and other industries. He has substantial experience with debt and equity offerings, technical accounting and SEC reporting issues, as well as helping clients comply with the SarbanesOxley Act of 2002. John, his wife, Brenda, and their daughters, Abigail and Natalie, live in Tulsa.

son, Kellen McCormack. Heather Barnthouse-Schroeder ’94, journ, and her husband, Chris, have a son, Christopher, 4, and a daughter, Mary Devine, 18 months old. They live in Richmond, Va.

Kathleen Mosburg ’92, mgmt info sys, ’94, MBA, welcomed a daughter, Morgan, on July 18 at 1:27 a.m. Morgan weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. Wilson Pipestem ’92, Engl, and his wife, Brenda, have three children, Truman, 4, Parrish, 3, and an infant, Mattea. Gabrielle Ricketts ’92, org admin, and her husband, Chad, welcomed their second child, Zane Avery, in May. His older sister, Sophia Camille, 2, is already teaching him to wave his guns and say “Go Pokes!” Karla Stone ’92, sec ed, is a computer instructor at Fargo High School. She and her husband, David, have four children, Austin, Levi, Patricia and Ashley. Robert “Mike” Verner ’92, an sci, and his wife, Leslie Sauer-Verner, ’93, acct, live in McAlester, Okla., where Mike is vice president of their family business. They have three sons, Michael, Nic and Lane.

Brian Huseman ’94, pol sci, recently was named chief of staff to the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. He joined the FTC in 2001 as a staff attorney in the marketing practices division and later became an attorney adviser for former chairman Timothy J. Muris. He also has served with chairman Deborah Platt Majoras since the beginning of her term. Scott Lehmann ’94, elec tech, and his wife, Kathleen, welcomed a son, Joshua Steven, in February. Yasha Neparko ’94, mech eng, joined Lockheed Martin Technical Operations in February as a senior systems engineer.

Ron Parker ’93, sec ed, is a teacher for Oklahoma City Public Schools. He was named U.S. History Teacher of the Year for 2005-2006 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. He was also named a James Madison Fellow for 2005-2006. DeWayne Patterson ’93, spec ed, is preparing to teach English in China for a semester. D. Kyle Rutledge ’93, elec eng, is an electrical engineer for the Regulus Group. He and his wife, Kathryn, have a 2-year-old daughter, Eden Claire, and a 3-month-old

Jennifer Smallwood Scott ’95, pol sci, and her husband, Toby, welcomed their first child, Charlie, in February 2005. Jennifer is the pastor of children’s ministries at First United Methodist Church in Coppell, Texas.

Chris Teague ’94, mgmt info sys, and his wife, Susan, ’94, FRCD, recently celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary. They have two sons, Carson, 8, and Spencer, 6. Craig Thompson ’94, ag ed, is in his second year of teaching horticulture at Byng High School in Ada, Okla. Stanley “Clay” Witham ’95, an sci, and his wife, Jennifer, welcomed a daughter, Aime Rene, in March. Her parents say she was dressed in orange from day one.

Tony Hill ’93, bio sci, ’97, D.O., is an emergency room physician and owns an urgent care clinic. He and his wife, Erin, ’01, D.O., have three children and are expecting a fourth. Ethan Little ’93, mech power tech, and his wife, Gerrye Sue, ’93, gen bus, continue to live in Hot Springs, Ark., with their two children, Shelby and Hunter. They say they hope to visit Stillwater very soon.

for Oracle. He and his wife, Melissa, ’95, HIDCS, live in Tulsa with their two sons, Pete and Hank.

Tim Denker ’96, fin, recently became executive vice president and general counsel for Dunhill Partners. He and his wife, Karen, also adopted a son, Jon.

Stephany Wade Tate ’94, M.A., speech and comm, is chief human resources officer for Chickasaw Nation Industries. She and her husband, James, have twins, Kaeli Joy and Tyler Wade, who won first and second place in the ’89’er Baby Pageant in Guthrie, Okla. Derek Davidson ’95, an sci, is a firefighter with the Wichita Falls Fire Department in Wichita Falls, Texas. His wife, Kim, is a sonographer at the local hospital. The couple also farms and takes care of cattle. Patrick E. Fabian ’95, gen bus, is in his sixth year as technology sales manager 101

of Georgia and recently accepted a faculty position at the UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Brad Black ’98, gen bus, and his wife, Tiffany, ’98, elem ed, welcomed a son, Joe Clark, in March. He weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and was 21 inches long. Benjamin Coffin ’98, HRAD, is an executive chef at OSU. He married April Coffin on Dec. 16, 2005.

Megan Maison-Regan ’96, econ, and her husband, Vince Regan, were married Dec. 3, 2005, in Stillwater. They live in Orlando, Fla. Megan has been employed by Walt Disney World for 12 years and is currently a sales manager with the Executive Conferences Team. Vince, a portfolio consultant for Charles Schwab Company, is founder of Fantasy College Blitz.com., a website dedicated to college fantasy football. Although a graduate of the University of Florida, he considers himself a true orange OSU Cowboy.

Weston Givens ’97, an sci, is a partner in Davison & Sons Cattle Co. His wife, Ruth Ann, ’95, nutr sci, ’97, M.S., is a consultant dietician in northwest Oklahoma. They have three children, Will, 11, Laura, 8, and Lena, 1. Trinity Grant ’97, mktg, and her husband, Brian, recently moved to Wichita, Kan., where Trinity works as a corporate buyer for Sheplers Western Wear retail stores, catalog and Internet.

Robert D. Little ’98, soc, is a mechanic for American Airlines. He and his wife, Heather, have two sons, Saxon and Orion. Brad Mallam ’98, an sci, teaches math at El Reno Alternative School in El Reno, Okla. He also coaches football and basketball at the junior high and varsity levels. Brady Mitchell ’98, agron, is a farmer and rancher with MMB Farms. His wife, Kristi, ’98, speech path, is a stay-at-home mom. They have two children, Trenton and Allie.

Janine Ricker ’96, Span, and her husband, Brian, are expecting their first child this month. Laura Shank Sobieck ’96, Engl, ’99, M.S., couns, and her husband, Raymond “Mark,” ’97, hist, recently moved to Columbia, Mo., where Mark is vice president of RGS Enterprises. They welcomed their third child in November. Peter Donahue ’97, Ph.D., Engl, recently received the Richebourg Gaillard McWilliams Faculty Scholarship Award at Birmingham-Southern College, where he is an associate professor of English. The award includes a $2,500 cash stipend and is given to an outstanding member of the faculty based upon recommendations by his or her colleagues. Peter joined the college’s faculty in 1999.

Nancy Lewis ’97, Ed.D., recently received a Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. Since becoming a founding trustee more than 20 years ago, she has been an active volunteer, serving on many committees and increasing public awareness of the foundation. Will Martin ’97, econ, lives in Carrollton, Texas, with his wife, Lisa, daughter, Olivia, and son, Garrett. He is compliance manager and vice president for Southwest Securities Inc. in Dallas. Justin Thomason ’97, an sci, ’02, DVM, and his wife, Sasha, ’02, DVM, live in Watkinsville, Ga. Justin completed his residency training in small animal internal medicine in July at the University

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Heather Yates ’98, const mgmt tech, and her husband, Scott, ’99, ag ed, welcomed twin daughters, Elle Madilyn and Emma Kathryn, in May. Heather recently became an assistant professor in the construction management technology department at OSU. Scott is working toward a master’s degree and is a graduate assistant in the OSU agriculture education department. Dustin B. Allen ’99, an sci, and his wife, Quincy, are building a house and horse barn in Madisonville, Texas. They train roping horses for the public.

Julie Bond-Ledford ’99, ag econ, ’01, M.S., ag ed, married Bryan Ledford on Aug. 6, 2005. Mark Callery ’99, bio sci, ’03, D.O., recently started a job at Utica Park Clinic in Owasso, Okla. He and his wife, Lori, ’99, FRCD, are expecting twins this month. Scott Eisenhauer ’99, gen bus, recently became general manager of P&K Equipment. He and his wife, Melissa, welcomed their first child, Katie Jo, in December 2005. Erin Johnson Grimes ’99, chem, recently completed her emergency medicine training at Ohio State University. She and her husband, Brian, ’99, constr mgmt tech, welcomed a daughter, Jaxson Barnette, in October 2005. They plan to move back to Oklahoma. Brad Wooten ’99, ag econ, married Jodie Gage on Sept. 6, 2005. They recently opened the law offices of Gage & Wooten PLLC in downtown Stillwater.

00s Derek Dick ’00, an sci, ’02, M.S., ag, and his wife, Tenae, ’99, an sci, ’00, M.S., ag, welcomed a son, Travis Tyler, in April. Arthur Drain ’00, HRAD, married Allyson Hyatt on Aug. 15. Greg Grunewald ’00, ag econ, and his wife, Laura, ’00, mktg, welcomed a son, Sutton, in July. They also have a 2-year-old son, Max. Travis Hill ’00, chem eng, and his wife, Heather, ’00, sec ed, recently moved back to Stillwater. Their third child, a daughter, was born in March at Stillwater Medical Center. Krista Hodges-Eckhoff ’00, ag econ, graduated from the University of Tulsa College of Law and is an assistant district attorney in El Reno, Okla., in the Canadian County district attorney’s office.

Making Headlines Janna Clark, a 2000 journalism and broadcasting and French graduate, remembers being a little girl watching the news with her parents and thinking, “I want to do that.” This ambition shaped throughout her childhood and her love for her work is what has motivated her to become one of the most award-winning reporters at KOKI-FOX23 in Tulsa. “It affects me because it’s my community,” says Clark, a Tulsa native. “It’s where my family lives.” Clark, who recently received an Edward R. Murrow Award for writing from the Radio-Television News Directors Association, says if you care about what you do, you will be successful. “I like being the voice of the public and helping people even as young as 8 or 9 years old,” says Clark, who covers the education beat. “I love going into schools where the stakeholders are the students. Whether they are in high school, college or are first-graders, I want to know what they think and how they feel.” Clark has been at FOX23 since its first newscast in February 2002. Before that, she worked for one year for KXII-TV at the Ardmore, Okla., bureau. She said she recommends beginning broadcasters start out in a small market where they will be given more responsibility and can gain more experience. “Get any internships you can get,” Clark says. “Shadow people and ask lots of questions.” She says if students do not like their major during school, they probably will

not like working in that field. She adds there is nothing wrong with changing majors. “There’s no point in doing something you don’t like,” Clark says. “College is the time to figure out what you want to do.” The Edward R. Murrow Award honors outstanding achievements in electronic journalism. Clark’s entry was a compilation of six stories she wrote during a one-year period. The stories’ topics varied, including education, grass fires and soldiers coming home, among others. In addition to two previous Edward R. Murrow Awards, Clark also has received an Emmy award, Associated Press awards and the Marshall Gregory Award for Excellence in Education Reporting from the Oklahoma Education Association. While a student at OSU, Clark was a staff writer for The Daily O’Collegian, which she says helped her develop interviewing and writing skills. Clark also was involved in Gamma Phi Beta and the National Broadcasting Society/ Alpha Epsilon Rho and spent a year as an intern for KWTV Channel 9 in Oklahoma City, where she shadowed reporters. Clark says she likes informing the public, writing, interviewing and meeting people, and she’s glad to be living her childhood dream. Despite the glamour associated with television news, she considers herself a reporter. “At the end of the day,” she says, “I’m just writing.”

Courtney Hentges

Jeremy Mason ’00, journ, is a resident in foot and ankle surgery in Oklahoma City. His wife, Sarah, ’01, acct, ’01, M.S., is a CPA with Deloitte Tax LLP. Lisa McLaughlin ’00, Ed.D., recently was named chair-elect of the board of trustees of the North Central Association

Janna Clark on assignment 103

photo/phil shockley

Engineering professor Rao Yarlagadda, left, has influenced many students during his 40-year career, including former student and now colleague Jack Cartinhour.

Rao Yarlagadda retires after 40 years When Rao Yarlagadda’s former students heard about his impending retirement from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, they surprised their beloved professor with a lasting tribute in his honor.  Twenty-one of his 30 doctoral advisees attended the celebration and announced the establishment of a fellowship in his name to support graduate study in signal processing at OSU. Former student Joseph Campbell, now senior member of the technical staff at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory who completed his Ph.D. in 1992, provided the inspiration for the surprise event, and Legand Burge Jr., dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences at Tuskegee University, was one of the first to offer assistance. “I thought it was a great idea,” says Burge, who in 1979 was one of the first few African-Americans to complete a Ph.D. in engineering at OSU. “Not only does the fellowship recognize Dr. Yarlagadda in a way that will continue in perpetuity,” Burge says, “it also gives encouragement and provides 104

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financial assistance to graduate students in the area of signal processing.” A native of India, Yarlagadda and his wife, Marceil, came to OSU in 1966 soon after his friend Charles Bacon accepted a job at OSU. The two had become acquainted as doctoral students at Michigan State University. “Charlie later became department head at OSU and was very helpful in building the consortium of oil companies so instrumental in my work.” Yarlagadda’s impact on signal processing includes co-founding Digital Signal Processing Journal and chairing one of the initial international conferences on acoustics, speech and signal processing to be held outside of the East Coast. He also united faculty from electrical engineering, physics and geology with Bacon’s support, and helped improve underground exploration of oil and gas by developing techniques for the modeling of acoustic responses in downhole tools.  This endeavor led to the establishment of laboratory facilities and a productive research program at OSU that enjoyed the support of a 12-member

consortium of the world’s leading companies for more than two decades. Work to improve the integrity of digital image processing involved Sandia National Laboratories. Yarlagadda’s collaboration with John Hershey, who completed his Ph.D. in 1981 and subsequently received the Melvin R. Lohmann Medal from OSU, resulted in the development at OSU of the encoding technique, Naturalness Preserving Transform, or NPT. Yarlagadda’s legacy at OSU is exemplified by the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s assistance to the National Security Agency in the development of techniques for speech coding and recognition, and data transmission and compression. Campbell, who did his undergraduate and master’s work at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and John Hopkins University, respectively, won a fellowship to pursue a doctoral degree at any school he wanted. And because of Yarlagadda’s professional reputation, he chose OSU. “A lot of people asked, ‘Why are you not going to MIT? What are you doing?’” Campbell remembers. “I mentioned to one of the guys headed to MIT that I was going to Oklahoma State, and he said, ‘Where is that?’ and I said, ‘Well, it’s with Dr. Yarlagadda.’ And even he had heard of Dr. Yarlagadda.  “It’s really all about what an amazing person he is and why he’s attracted so many really top people to OSU,” Campbell says. Yarlagadda’s students describe him as a teacher, mentor and friend as willing to compile award nomination materials for them as to help secure housing or unpack U-hauls.  “One of the things I did was recruit older graduate students,” Yarlagadda says, “and many of them I had known for years. They were professionals and had degrees from top schools all over the country. “They wanted to come to OSU because we had the kind of Ph.D. program that allowed them to work on projects related to their jobs and the kind

of people at the university who accepted them,” says Yarlagadda, professor emeritus who continues working from his campus office. Yarlagadda says his students are extremely committed to their work. “I think almost all of my students are brighter than me, and I think they are very serious people. In lectures, I name individuals and point out what my students have done. All of them have done remarkably well and are very proud of OSU.” Adam Huffer Rao Yarlagadda’s Ph.D. students Eddie Fowler (’69) – professor emeritus, electrical and computer engineering, Kansas State University Lewis Minor (’69) – engineer, Lockheed Martin Fun Ye (’72) – professor, electrical engineering, Tamkang University, Taiwan Kal Massad (’75) – Devry, Houston, Texas B. Suresh Babu (’78) – Mitre Corporation, Boston, Mass. Lee Burge (’79) –Retired U.S. Air Force colonel; dean, College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences at Tuskegee University James Ledbetter (’79) –Retired U.S. Air Force colonel, Albuquerque, N.M. John Hershey (’81) – technical staff, General Electric Global Research, Schenectady, N.Y. Meemong Lee (’81) – senior engineer, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institutes of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. Ahmad Milyani (’81) – K.A. University, Jedda, Saudi Arabia Rob Preuss (’83) – BBN Technologies, Boston, Mass. Keith Teague (’84) – associate professor and head, electrical and computer engineering, OSU Steve Patton (’85) – engineer, Lockheed Martin, Littleton, Colo. Jim Shroeder (’85) – professor, electrical engineering, University of Adelaide, DSpace, Australia Jack Cartinhour (’87) – professor, electrical engineering technology, OSU Dwight Day (’87) – associate professor, electrical and computer engineering, Kansas State University Chuck Kriel (’88) – consultant, Boeing, Wichita, Kan. Jim Lansford (’88) – chief technology officer, Alereon, Austin, Texas Robert Hayes (’89) – Retired, dean, Electronics, Devry University; currently, visiting professor, engineering technology, University of North Texas Antone Kusmanoff (’89) – L-3 Communications, Dallas, Texas Rich Dean (’90) – Retired, Executive Service, National Security Agency; currently, lecturer, Morgan State University, electrical and computer engineering John Endsley (’90) – Sandia National Laboratory, Albuquerque, N.M. Scott King (’91) – Freescale, Austin, Texas Larry Paden (’91) – Electrical Engineering, Engineering & Transmission Headquarters, Grand River Dam Authority, Broken Arrow, Okla. Matt Perry (’91) – former president and CEO, Transmeta Corp., San Jose, Calif. Joe Campbell (’92) – senior staff, MIT Lincoln Laboratory Alan Higgins (’96) – Voice Vault, San Diego, Calif. Nikki Bruner Ibarra (’98) – Seagate, Longmont, Colo. Charlotte Fore (’99) – Sciperio, Stillwater, Okla. Tina Kohler (’00) – National Security Agency, Md.

Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement for the 2006-2007 school year. She will assume the role of chair in 2007-2008 and help oversee the accreditation of public and private elementary schools in a 19-state region. Paul Redman ’90, hort and land arch, ’94, M.S., hort, recently was named director of the prestigious Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia. The gardens are a worldpremier horticulture attraction and were created by Piere S. DuPont 100 years ago. Tyler R. Ashby ’01, bio sci, married Stephanie S. Wilson of Blanchard, Okla., on Sept. 30. John Cooper ’01, acct, married Jaime Jackson on June 10 in Tulsa. Leah Hale ’01, FRCD, recently became a family support specialist and parent educator with Family and Children’s Services in Tulsa. Jonathan Hess ’01, DVM, lives in Hagerman, Idaho, with his wife, Jami, and their 2-year-old daughter. They are expecting another baby and enjoy spending time in their cabin in the mountains. Donielle Larison ’01, elem ed, was recently named dean of instruction for sixth- through eighth-grade students at Borger Middle School. She is married to Lindel, ’03, chem eng. Kit Nowlin ’01, ind eng and mgmt, and his wife, Jennifer, ’00, speech and comm, live in northwest Arkansas. They both work for Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where Kit is a senior strategy manager, and Jennifer is senior counsel in the legal department.

Stephanie Opela ’01, FRCD, received a Diamond Circle Award in May from the Ritenour School District in St. Louis, Mo. She is an educator at Ritenour’s Early Childhood Education Center. Diamond Circle Awards are given to teachers and staff who best exemplify the district’s commitment to quality education and service.

Holly Pollack ’01, pre-vet, ’03, DVM, welcomed a son, Harrison John, in November 2005. He weighed 6 pounds, 2 ounces. Micah Anderson ’02, fin, recently starting working in the family business and became owner of Norman’s Dry Cleaning Inc. He plans to marry his fiancée, Katie, in March. Jenna Caldwell Campbell ’02, fam relations, and her husband, Casey, ’02, pol sci, moved back to Stillwater in 2005. Casey returned from a yearlong deployment in Iraq in January 2005, and Jenna earned a master’s degree in Christian education the following May. She is director of youth and family ministry at a Stillwater church. Casey is working toward an undergraduate degree in animal science at OSU. Jeff Odom ’02, agri bus, and his wife, Carla, welcomed a son, Jake Stephen, in December 2005. Robert Seymour ’02, comp info sys, is now part-owner of an artistic rubber stamp company, B Line Designs LLC. Tambra Stevenson ’02, nutri sci, recently received the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Leadership Award for her management of the Office of Medicare Hearing and Appeals’ combined federal campaign for headquarters and field offices . Jared Grell ’03, an sci, started a new job in April as assistant vice president of First National Bank in Tonkawa, Okla.

Tyler Henning ’03, journ, recently joined SPARKS architectural, engineering and design firm after two years as managing editor of the nationally published Golf Illustrated magazine. Henning will serve as marketing and public relations coordinator for all the firm’s divisions.

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Melissa deReign ’04, zoo, married Justin Timmerman, ’05, wildlife and fish ecol, in July. The couple met at OSU while living in the Willham North dorms. Melissa works at St. John’s Medical Center as a referral specialist, scheduling people for surgeries. Ashley Hibbets ’03, DHM, brings two years of interior design experience to the SPARKS architectural, engineering and design firm’s spiritual team. She previously worked as an interior designer and project manager for the McIntosh Group of Tulsa. SPARKS and Hibbets will work together to provide clients with inspiring and functional spaces that reflect clients’ visions. Deborah McIntosh Swafford ’03, ag ed, married Marshall Ray Swafford in June 2005 in Morro Bay, Calif. They live in Blacksburg, Va. Christopher Neurohs ’03, econ, ’03, acct, and his wife, Elizabeth, ’04, journ, welcomed their first son, Benjamin Grant, in February.

Deena K. Fisher ’04, Ed.D., recently graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and became the vice president of council for Oklahoma Extended Campus Administrators. She has two grandchildren who live in Texas. Jennifer Jones-Mlynek ’04, elem ed, and her husband, Michael, ’03, mgmt, ’03, zoo, welcomed their first son, Jayden Michael, in December 2005. Andrea Land ’04, elem ed, is a fourthgrade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School in Ponca City, Okla.

Nancy Bogacz ’04, ag ed, is pursuing a master’s degree in elementary education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Andrea Boothe ’04, psych, is attending dental school at the University of MissouriKansas City. Amy Christian ’04, mech eng, works for ConocoPhillips in Houston. Her mother, Kathy Christian, attended OSU in 1976 and lives in Houston, as well. Her father, Jack Clark, now lives in Bartlesville, Okla., and is retired from Phillips Petroleum Company. 106

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Nate King ’06, civ eng, recently became an engineer in training for LandDesign, an urban planning, civil engineering and landscape architecture company in Charlotte, N.C. He is originally from Edmond, Okla.

Katie Robben ’04, mgmt info sys, lives in Los Angeles, where she works as a business analyst for Perot Systems Corp. Sarah Willard ’04, Span, and her husband, Brent, ’06, ed, were married in July in Oklahoma City. Jason Allen ’05, ag ed, married Rachelle Allen in May.

Leah Wahlgren ’03, health promo, recently was hired as the administrative assistant for Rex Walters, Florida Atlantic University men’s head basketball coach. She will serve as the first contact for the men’s basketball office with on-campus visitors and the public and will assist in camps, academics and community involvement.

info sys, and her husband, James, ’04, comp sci, are preparing for a second wedding and reception in Devina’s hometown of Jakarta, Indonesia, in January. They are enjoying their new house in Tulsa.

Justin Eisenhauer ’05, acct, ’05, M.S., and his wife, Jerrilyn, ’02, acct, ’03, M.S., celebrated their first wedding anniversary in June. They were high school sweethearts and have been together nine years. They both stay very busy during tax season.

Clifford Riner ’06, fire pro and safe tech, and his wife, Cathy, recently moved to Long Beach, Calif. Clifford works as a fire protection and safety specialist at two ConocoPhillips refineries in the Los Angeles area, and Cathy is a high school math teacher.

Emily Fourmy ’05, bio chem, began dental school at the University of Tennessee in August. Margaret Murray ’05, elem ed, and her husband, Shane, married in October 2005. Shane is pursing an architecture degree, and Margaret teaches fourth grade in Stillwater. Amanda Orrell ’05, DHM, and her husband, Dustin, celebrated their first wedding anniversary in May. Amanda recently accepted an interior design position at Office Interiors. James Craig Perry ’05, intl bus, works in Washington, D.C., as a legislative aide for Congressman Frank D. Lucas. Devina Sulaiman Currie ’05, mgmt

Keep Us Posted!

Whether you’ve changed jobs or last names or added a new Cowboy or Cowgirl to the mix, we want to hear about it! Members of the OSU Alumni Association can submit classnotes for publication in the STATE magazine and on the orangeconnection.org website. To submit information, visit www. orangeconnection.org and click on Update Your Information or contact us by phone at (800) 433-4678 or by mail at 201 ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni Center, Stillwater, OK 74078-7043, c/o Classnotes.

Life Members

In Memory

Dan Dalke ’51, gen bus, and his wife, Lufern, recently moved into the Tamarack Retirement Center in Altus, Okla.

Orth Lee Costley ’38, bus admin, died Sept. 6 in Stillwater. Orth graduated from Seiling High School in 1934. After graduation from Oklahoma A&M College, he remained in Stillwater, working as a field administrator for the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service of the USDA. He retired in 1976, after 38 years of employment. Orth married Nina Wainwright Ross of Muskogee, Okla., in 1954 and lived with her in Stillwater until her death in January 1999. Orth and Nina have two children, Carolyn and Mark. Orth was a lifelong farmer and cattleman as well as a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, the Golden Kiwanians and an elder in the Presbyterian Church. He enjoyed traveling and laughing, and he made friends easily.

Karen Rose ’69, elem ed, ’73, M.S., ’87, Ed.D., recently was named director of local education foundation outreach for the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. She will head the organization’s local outreach program, which provides help and training to local education foundations and to groups seeking to establish foundations in their communities. Karen retired in June 2005 as assistant superintendent of Sand Springs Public Schools and is an active volunteer at state and local levels. Arnold Wilson ’73, Ph.D., civ eng, is professor emeritus of civil engineering at Brigham Young University, where he taught structural engineering courses for 40 years before retiring in 1997. He still works as a structural engineer and has engineered more than 1,400 concrete thin shell structures in 48 states and 45 countries. He is the author of the book, Practical Design of Concrete Shells.

Robert W. Vincent ’41, died Dec. 9, 2005. He was an ROTC faculty member at OSU from 1960 to 1962. His wife, Pattie, ’42, bus ed, is retired from OSU. Patrick Grant Vincent ’42, gen bus, died Feb. 20. He was 85. He graduated from Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va., in August 1942, shortly after his graduation from the OSU School of Commerce. He married his wife, Phyllis, ’41, gen bus, in 1946. Patrick has six children, 13 grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren. Peggy Anne Lutz Brenneman died Aug. 30. She was 79. Peggy Anne attended OSU from 1946 to 1947 in the College of Business Administration. She was a longtime resident of Ponca City, Okla., except for a period of about eight years when she and her family lived in Houston. She and her husband, John, relocated to Georgetown, Texas, in 2000. Peggy was active in the Ponca City Board of Education and in the Daughters of the American Revolution. She played bridge and golf and traveled extensively. Peggy and John have two sons and a granddaughter. Richard Gerald Ingham ’70, econ, died Dec. 22, 2005, after sudden cardiac arrest. He was 57. An attorney with Oklahoma’s Aging Services program, he was a devoted husband, father, friend and colleague. Richard grew up in Stillwater and was a

member of the ROTC and Beta Theta Pi fraternity while at OSU. He and his wife, Susan, married in 1971, and he served in the U.S. Army from 1972 to 1974. Richard and Susan have two daughters and a son. Bryce D. Stallard ’71, Ed.D., died March 1 at Midland Hospice House in Topeka, Kan. He was 79. Bryce served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He taught math and coached basketball at various high schools and also served in principal and superintendent positions. Bryce retired in 1991 but continued to substitute teach in Topeka until February. He married his wife, Lois M. Jones, in 1949. Together they have a son, three daughters and seven grandchildren. James “Jamie” W. Nease ’73, RTVF, died Aug. 16, 2005. His wife, Maria, attended OSU in 1971. Richard A. Dotson ’82, D.O., died May 20 in Alma, Ark. He was 57 and had many patients and friends. Thad Kenneth Scott ’90, theater, died Dec. 13, 2005, in Las Vegas. He was 38. Thad grew up in Stillwater and graduated from Stillwater High School. While at OSU, he was awarded the Vivia Locke Outstanding Theatre Student Scholarship. After college, Thad worked in numerous positions at several theaters across the country, including as an automation technician for EFX at the MGM Grand Hotel. Most recently, he was the automation technician for Cirque Du Soleil’s production, “O,” at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. (See related story, page 82.) Frances June Boger, wife of the late Dr. Lawrence L. Boger, OSU president emeritus, died Sept. 28 in Oklahoma City after complications following a brief illness. She was active with hospital volunteer organizations, coordinating gift shops and related patient services at Stillwater Medical Center and other hospitals. A cancer survivor since 1986, Frances also counseled many breast cancer victims and their families. In her leisure time, she enjoyed following OSU athletics, playing golf and practicing needlepoint. After the death of her husband, Frances moved to a retirement facility in Oklahoma City. 107

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Morrill Hall and the Oklahoma Capital Morrill Hall, above, and Old Central are the only remaining campus facilities built during the territorial period.

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winter 2006

photo/Phil Shockley

photo/OSU Special Collections

Morrill Hall circa 1930

Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College President Angelo C. Scott had a dilemma in 1902. The expanding college needed new facilities, but other Oklahoma Territorial needs were considered higher priorities. Even while recommending construction of a new administration and agriculture building, he hoped the following year would bring new funding for construction. But uncertainty 35 miles away in Guthrie, the territorial capital of Oklahoma, would create barriers to his plan. Concerned the state capital would move to Oklahoma City, the leading citizens and politicians of Guthrie turned to Dennis T. Flynn, their territorial delegate to the U.S. Congress, for assistance. In 1903, Flynn sponsored congressional legislation restricting the use of Oklahoma Territorial expenditures for construction of public buildings, thus guaranteeing a new state capital building could not be constructed in Oklahoma City and securing the capital in Guthrie, or so the citizens of Guthrie thought. While Guthrie’s supporters were pleased, many others throughout the territory were not, as building programs for other public entities were delayed or eliminated. President Scott was determined to see construction continue. With the regents’ approval, he went to Washington, D.C., in January 1905 along with John Fields,

director of the OAMC Experiment Station, for the annual meeting of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations. Scott and Fields also sought a property title transfer for 640 acres of “school lands” located next to the existing campus and an increased revenue adjustment for leases of property in the Cherokee Outlet that were designated to benefit the institution under provisions of the Morrill Act. At least two factors were working in President Scott’s favor; he had earned a law degree before entering academia, and his brother Charles was a senator from Kansas. With Scott’s legal experience and Charles’ introductions, Scott and Fields met with several subcommittees and Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon before returning to Oklahoma to meet with influential territorial legislators. Five weeks later, President Scott submitted a proposal identifying the new building as Morrill Hall, a name closely associated with land-grant colleges and the work of the late Vermont Sen. Justin Morrill. All three of Scott’s initiatives passed during a unanimous consent hour, and the OAMC president returned to Stillwater in mid-February.

Scott and Fields continued encouraging Oklahoma legislators to fund construction of Morrill Hall after President Theodore Roosevelt signed the legislation into law on Feb. 16, 1905. They invited territorial leaders and influential college patrons to campus the next day to tour college facilities, and $100,000 was appropriated two months later for several new facilities. Morrill Hall was to be built and furnished for $78,000. The regents selected a bid from Oklahoma City firm of A.O. Campbell for $62,800, and engineering professor Richard E. Chandler was directed to manage the installation of fixtures, water, gas, heating and electrical systems using the remaining funds from the appropriation. Political bickering in Guthrie led to a legal challenge of the bid process, resulting in a lowered bid, but all animosity was put aside on Jan. 15, 1906, to set the cornerstone for one of the largest public buildings in the territory. Fields and Scott were both recognized for their contributions, and they in turn expressed appreciation to the citizens, especially the farmers, of the Indian and Oklahoma Territories. Completed in only nine months, the regents officially accepted Morrill Hall in mid-October 1906. Oklahoma statehood on Nov. 16, 1907, brought with it new challenges and changes. President Scott announced his resignation in 1908. The board of regents was dramatically reorganized and OAMC fell under the authority and control of the Oklahoma State Board of Agriculture. Guthrie lost the state capital to Oklahoma City in 1910, and a disastrous fire in August 1914 destroyed all but the exterior walls of Morrill Hall. Much of the college’s early administrative history was lost, but in a few years Morrill Hall was rebuilt. Today only Old Central and Morrill Hall, the second oldest building on campus, remain from Oklahoma’s territorial period. David C. Peters OSU Special Collections & University Archives

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